Collegiate Life
by EyeofAmethyst07
Summary: Giratina has always been powerful on his own. Never needing anyone's assistance, he's clawed his way up to the top of fierce battlers. However, a few months with a cold rival, a serious professor, an old friend, and some odd transfer students will send everything he's ever stood for spiraling out of control. Human Pokemon story! Rated T out of paranoia. HIATUS!
1. Meet the Battlers

**A/N- Hello people! EyeofAmethyst07 again, here with another story. In this particular story, all Pokémon are humanized, and there clothes will somewhat resemble their in-game sprites. If a Pokémon has an alternate form, ie a Mega Evolution, they will actually turn in to that exact creature. The story will follow Giratina as he struggles to adapt to…well, "Colligate Life". If you haven't read my bio, please do!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did, it wouldn't be a kid's game, and the villainous teams would win something once in a while. :)**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life, Chapter 1

Giratina glanced up at the sign that sat between two massive pillars. Sure enough, it said _4_ _th_ _Elite University._ The boy sighed to himself. _This is it?_

Giratina was an 18 year-old male. His sharp angular features and his wine-red irises contrasted sharply against the grey trench coat he always wore. Golden rings were securely fastened around his ankles and wrists, and the neck-high collar had two half-rings wrapped around it as well. A golden mask that would cover the bottom half of his face hung loosely around his neck, and his grey-black hair was slicked back smoothly. Giratina had wings, too, but those only showed when he wanted them to…

A grey blur whizzed by his ear, nearly knocking him over. As the figure on the skateboard rolled away, he turned and waved his hand. "Sorry!"

Giratina barely had time to note the boy's eye color, yellow, before he took a tight turn around the next building, disappearing from sight. Giratina growled. _The nerve of some of these people,_ he thought. _It's almost like they're toddlers instead of adults._

"Giratina, you're not making enemies already, are you?"

Giratina smirked as he recognized the owner of the voice that came from behind him. "Darkrai." he said. "I'm tempted, but not exactly yet. I've got at least give him a chance." The pale skinned boy in front of him raised his eyebrow.

Darkrai was 19 years old, and he'd been a friend of Giratina's long since the elementary years. He had silky white hair that covered his left eye, leaving his other electric-blue iris exposed. He was dressed in a black leather jacket with the sleeves torn from the elbow to the shoulder, and the jagged red necklace that resembled the bottom half of a jaw hung from his neck, per usual.

Darkrai glanced at a piece of paper in his hands. "We'd better head to our first class." he said. "From what I hear, the battle teacher isn't very forgiving when it comes to tardies." Giratina rolled his wine-colored irises. "I can't say I'm too terribly worried about being late to _Accelerated Analytical Battle_ class." he said. Then he asked:

"Who else do we know in that class?" Darkrai glanced down at the sheet of paper in his pale hands. "We've got- I mean, we don't know anybody else." Giratina smirked and he turned to pass under the gates, gesturing for Darkrai to follow him. "That means Cresselia's in the class, right?" Giratina couldn't see his companion's face, but he could imagine it turning scarlet at the mention of his "secret" crush.

"No." was the short reply. Giratina chuckled. "What do you think her category is?" he said. "I know I'm a 120 double defender, and you're a 135 special attacker. What's her strength?" Darkrai immediately answered. "She's got a 130 special defense." he said.

Giratina laughed. "Then, not only does she have the required stat to make the accelerated battle class, but this also proves you spend enough time stalking her to know her category!" Giratina was rewarded with a slap upside the head. "Shut up." Darkrai said. "I don't stalk her, I just-just-"

"Gaze at her lovingly from afar?"

Darkrai's single blue eye almost flashed. "Shut up, Giratina." he repeated. "You make me sound like a lovesick schoolgirl."

"Isn't that what you are?"

Darkrai punched his companion's shoulder roughly. "I'm serious!" he said. "Just drop it." Giratina laughed aloud. _Like_ that's _going to happen anytime this century._ "You're going to have to confess eventually, man. It's already been nine years. It's a miracle nobody else has picked her up yet."

Darkrai snarled, but his face suddenly cleared as he made a realization. "What about you?" he asked annoyingly. "How're things going with Arceus?" Giratina growled. "I do not want to have anything to do with that psychopathic, ditzy, cruel, heartless little-."

"Oh, look." said Darkrai joyfully, cutting Giratina off mid-insult. "We're here."

The Battle Hall was in the dead center of the University campus. It was a tall, proud building with pillars and walls made of solid grey marble. An emerald-green dome covered the top, and a large statue of some deer-like creature stood proudly in front of it. Suddenly, the bell atop the Hall rang three times. "Two minute warning." said Darkrai. Giratina chuckled, "Thank you, Darkrai, I'd completely forgotten what the warning bell sounded like in our two years of being here."

Darkrai rolled his visible eye. "Force of habit. Sue me." Then his eyes locked on something behind Giratina's shoulder. "Ooh…" he said. "Double take." Giratina turned around, trying to follow his Dark type friend's gaze. "What is it?" Darkrai pointed over his shoulder. "Her."

Giratina's eyes rested on another student who was making her way deliberately up the staircase into the Battle Hall. She was tall, probably around 5' 11", with flowing green hair that stopped at her shoulder blades. The green trench coat that she was wearing almost perfectly matched the one Giratina was wearing, except for the fact that hers had a series of V-shaped spines jutting out the back of it, like dragon scales. Her gaze swept from side to side, suspiciously scanning the campus for something. Her confident gaze locked with Giratina's deadpan countenance. Her eyes were a deep, swirling shade of amber gold, and they scanned Giratina's face for any response. Not finding any, she turned nonchalantly and continued her upward journey.

Darkrai raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is it just me," he began. "Or does she act a lot like you?" Giratina pondered on that for a moment. _She seems self-confident, acts like she doesn't trust anybody, and moves with an air of superiority,_ he noticed. _The similarities couldn't be any closer._ However, aloud he said. "Perhaps. Let's get to class." Darkrai chuckled, but said nothing as they scaled the steps.

/-\\-/-\

"Whoa. A lot better than the gym, huh?"

Giratina chuckled as he studied the Battle Hall. The walls were stained oak, and the boards went all the way to the base of the dome, where sunlight poured from the many windows. At the far side of the circular room, a discrete desk of grey wood sat, with only a small binder and Pixar-style lamp on it. The door they had just walked in through left them at the top of the classroom. The desks were arranged in a semi-circle, and the closer to the center they were, the lower they sat. In the lowest and center-most point of the room, white lines marked a battlefield. Giratina smirked in anticipation. _This is going to be so much fun._

Darkrai moved ahead while his friend was busy admiring the Hall, and Giratina rushed forward to sit next to him in a seat that was halfway down on the left side of the desk arrangement. A flash of green caught his eye, and Giratina noticed that the amber-eyed girl had seated herself in the exact same row that they had, on the opposite side of the class. Giratina tore his gaze away before Darkrai could pick fun at him for looking.

Slowly, more and more students trickled in the Hall, and the empty seats soon became filled. As Giratina and Darkrai made small talk, a bulky, heavyset Latino sat down next to Darkrai. He wore a skin-tight beige muscle shirt, and he had what resembled a champion's belt around his waist. Darkrai stopped talking as he glanced up at the creature that was almost a complete foot taller than himself. Darkrai locked eyes with Giratina, and the leather-clad boy nodded his head towards the brute behind him, like, _Can you believe this guy?_

The brute took notice of this and jabbed a meaty finger in Darkrai's chest. "Keep a sharp eye, punk." he said in a deep voice. "I'll be watching you…" Darkrai simply chuckled and held out his left hand and charged up a sphere of black-ish purple energy. _Dark Void?_ thought Giratina. _Darkrai must actually feel threatened if he's charging_ that _particular move…_

"It wouldn't take much for a special attacker like myself to send you flying." said Darkrai lightly. The brute huffed angrily and turned to face the front. "Not if I can land a Close Combat…"

 _Creeaaak….. THUMP!_

All heads turned to the oaken doors that had just closed. A figure in a black polo shirt and dress shoes and pants was standing atop the stairs. His jet-black hair was streaked backwards, then brought forward again, forming two pointy ends. A pair of sharp blue eyes the same shade as Darkrai's swept over the class. "Greetings." said the man. "I am Yveltal Destruction, but you will be calling me Professor Yveltal, or just Professor if that suits you better."

The professor began descending the stairs. "You are all here because you excel at the one thing that our species can do exponentially better than any other: battling. I expect no less than your best effort, and any students who drop below a B average will be cut from the program." The students began murmuring nervously between themselves, but Giratina simply smirked. Although Darkrai was the Honors student, if there was one thing Giratina excelled at, it was battling.

Yveltal made it to the bottom of the steps and crossed the battlefield to stand behind his desk He opened the small binder and glanced up at the class. "I will now call roll." he said loudly. "Arceus, Alpha." A thin white girl dressed in workout shorts and a tank top with shoulder length hair stood, her emerald eyes sparkling with what appeared to be cruel joy. As soon as she stood up, the jaws of half the males in the room dropped. Giratina rolled his wine-colored irises. _Get over it,_ he thought. _She's nowhere near worth it._

As Yveltal continued down the list, Giratina thought about his experiences with the pretty female, none of them good. Arceus was a seductress, and you would find her constantly surrounded by hordes of boys. Darkrai at one point had fallen as well, but he quickly saw what others had failed to see past her looks; Arceus was the cold, ruthless popular girl that came straight out of a High School Musical movie.

"Darkrai, Pitch."

Darkrai stood at hearing his name called, then sat down quickly. Despite his quick to fire anger and exceptional battle skills, Darkrai was very anti-social. The only reason he and Giratina were friends was because Giratina was exactly the same way, just with a tad bit more confidence and deadpan thrown in.

"Giratina, Renegade."

Giratina stood up, and he tried to glare at as many people at once as he could. Before he sat down, Yveltal called out the next name. "Rayquaza, Sky." The amber eyed girl from earlier stood up and held Giratina's gaze coldly, and Giratina fought the urge to sit down. _Darkrai was right,_ he thought with a start. _She_ does _act like me…_

Neither student sat down and the others in the class took notice of this, beginning to whisper amongst each other. Yveltal glanced up before returning his gaze to his roster. "All right you two, sit down." he said. "You'll have plenty of time to prove yourself later in class." Both students took their seats, never averting their gaze from each other. _Why haven't I seen her before?_ Giratina wondered. _You'd think I'd have noticed someone of this caliber immediately._

Yveltal put his list down and glanced around the Hall, scanning the students. Giratina broke his gaze from Rayquaza to meet his professor's stare. "We should be expecting some transfer students soon." said the Professor. "If they show up-."

 _THUMP!_ "Whoa!" _CRASH!_

The doors to the Battle Hall flew open, and a grey blur on a skateboard came flying over the stairs, face planting right in front of Professor Yveltal. Two more students, one dressed head-to-toe in black and the other in white, descended the stairs, calmly following the rampant skateboarder. The grey clad boy jumped to his feet and frantically dusted himself off. Yveltal raised an eyebrow bemusedly. "I suppose you are Kyurem?" he asked formally, distaste forming on his words. The grey-haired boy nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, that's me, Kyurem Boundary." he said. Kyurem pointed to the two students behind him. "The girl in white is Reshiram Vast, and the guy in black is Zekrom Deep."

Reshiram was dressed in a white jogging pullover, with tight fitting white sport pants. Her short white hair had twin streaks of red, and her cold blue eyes scanned the Hall in a bored fashion.

Zekrom was dressed in all black apparel, with a long sleeved Under Armour and a Nike workout shirt and pants. Thick black hair with streaks of blue topped his head, and his red eyes glared at Reshiram with a fiery vengeance. Although the white-clad girl was slightly taller than her two companions, Zekrom was considerably more built.

Yveltal kept his voice level. "And why could they not introduce themselves?" he asked. Kyurem snickered. "They normally don't say much." he said. "That and also the fact that they hate each other." Yveltal's other eyebrow rose to the top of his forehead. "Is that so?"

Kyurem nodded. "Yup. They're not siblings, but they sure as heck look like it. They've hated each other since Elementary." Yveltal raised his hand for silence. "I did not ask for your life story, Mr. Kyurem." he said. "All three of you find an empty seat."

Reshiram immediately stalked over to the right side of the Hall, and Zekrom turned left. Kyurem made a beeline for the seat right next to Giratina. As the grey haired boy plopped himself next to Giratina, he extended his hand. "Sorry about almost nailing you with my skateboard. Kyurem Boundary." said the grey-haired boy, his yellow eyes gleaming playfully. Giratina rolled his eyes at realizing that Kyurem was the yellow eyed guy on the skateboard from earlier. _That probably goes to show something,_ thought Giratina. _But I'm not exactly certain of what._ Giratina extended his hand and shook firmly. "Giratina Renegade." he said, and he pointed a Darkrai behind him. "Darkrai Pitch." Darkrai gave Kyurem and acknowledging nod.

"All right, settle down." said Yveltal firmly, and the class quieted. "Most Professors would give you the first week easy to 'get accustomed to the routines'. I, however, will not grant you with such pleasures." Yveltal stepped out from behind his desk, and Giratina could make out the beginnings of a miniscule smirk creeping out on his face. "So I will start by asking this: Who believes they are the best in this class?" A stocky boy in a purple/pink jacket stood immediately. "I do." he said. Yveltal turned his gaze to the boy. "Mr. Mewtwo Genetic?" he asked, and the boy nodded assent. Yveltal frowned. "You scored a 680 on the Base Statistical Test, if memory serves." Mewtwo nodded.

"But you lack a grade higher than a C in any other class. How did you enroll in this class with below-required grades?" Mewtwo opened his mouth to answer, but someone else beat him to it.

"He bought his way into the class, that's how."

Every head turned toward the brute that sat next to Darkrai. Mewtwo snarled. "What did you say?" The brute stood up casually and effortlessly met the other boy's glare. "Everyone here knows your father's a rich man." he said simply. "He would expect nothing less than the top classes for you. So you only got into this class because of your father's money. Without that," The brute let out a short, confident laugh. "You're nothing." As the entire class went "OOOHHH.", Yveltal raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Machamp?" he asked. "Would you like to participate in this class' first battle against Mr. Mewtwo?" Machamp laughed, then jumped straight from his fifth row seat and landed on the left side of the battlefield with a heavy _thud._ "Of course."

Mewtwo grinned evilly and made his way to the right side of the battlefield. Mr. Yveltal retreated to sit in the chair behind his desk, and the other students settled in, eager to watch the battle unfold. Kyurem nudged Giratina's shoulder. "Why is that idiot doing this?" he asked. "He's got the type and stat disadvantage." Giratina didn't respond, as Darkrai did for him. "He's a fighting type." said the white-haired boy. "Testosterone goes to his head easily." As Kyurem laughed Giratina thought about his friend's comment. _I don't know,_ he thought. _Machamp might have a few tricks up his cut-off sleeves…_

Professor Yveltal's voice rang out. "This battle will continue until one of you is unable to continue. Ready?" Both contestants nodded, and they settled into their respective battle stances.

"Fight!"

/-\\-/-\

Mewtwo immediately extended his hand and it glowed pink. "Psycho Cut!" A crescent of pink energy barreled towards Machamp. The fighting type extended his own hand in response, and it glowed red. "Flamethrower!" the two attacks collided in midair, cancelling each other out. Machamp laughed. "You know, with all that power, I thought you'd hit harder." Mewtwo growled and brought both hands to the middle of his chest, charging a wave of energy. "Psystr-!"

"Sucker Punch!"

Machamp suddenly lunged forward and landed a massive punch on his opponent. As Mewtwo went flying back, the class gasped in amazement. Giratina even gave an impressed whistle. _He knows Sucker Punch? How is that possible?_

Mewtwo immediately rose to his feet, and he was momentarily encased in a halo of pink energy. "Future Sight." he said, and as the light faded, Machamp raised his hand again. "Flamethrower!" The wave of fire narrowly missed Mewtwo as he rolled to the side to avoid it. The Psychic type pointed at the ceiling and said "Thunder." Dark clouds formed directly over Machamp's head, and just before the bolt of lightning struck him, he disappeared. When he reappeared two feet to the left, he grinned knowingly.

"Substitute." he said. Mewtwo chuckled and raised both his hands. "Future Sight!" he yelled, and a wedge of pink energy formed over Machamp's head. Mewtwo thrust his hands down, and the wedge followed suit. As it made contact with Machamp and the ground, a cloud of smoke welled up from the force of the impact. Mewtwo smiled smugly, and the rest of the class looked on in anxiously. _Did he make it?_ they whispered. _Can he keep fighting?_

The smoke cleared and where the wedge had nailed the ground…stood Machamp, completely unscathed and a huge grin on his face. Mewtwo stumbled back, shocked. "What?" he said. "How did- What?" Machamp's body glowed a deep maroon. "My turn." The glow intensified around his hands, and he jumped into the air yelling, "Night Daze!" When he slammed his fists to the ground, a massive wave of dark energy rushed towards Mewtwo. The Psychic type had no time to dodge and was hit with the full force of the impact. Mewtwo went flying and slammed against the wall, knocked out cold.

There was absolute silence. Even Professor Yveltal seemed at a loss for words. Then Machamp jumped in the air and did a front flip. As he did, his body glowed purple, and when he landed; well, he wasn't even a he anymore.

Where the Machamp had once stood, a thin girl now stood, a smirk on her light brown skin. Red and black hair flowed all the way down to her heels, and it was tied off with a blue gem. Her blue-red lined irises gleamed with a joy of trickery. Yveltal applauded, breaking the shocked silence. "Well done, Miss…"

The girl smirked and bowed formally. "Zoroark Illusio." she said. Yveltal nodded approvingly. "You may return to your seat, Miss Illusio. Well done indeed…" As Zoroark stalked back to her place beside Darkrai, Yveltal addressed the entire class. "This goes to show you, ladies and gentlemen: never underestimate your opponent. Even if your scores are Legend Class-." The Professor glanced at Mewtwo, who had risen and was returning to his seat. "-that does not guarantee victory."

As Zoroark sat down next to Darkrai, all three boys leaned over in their seats to look at her, eyebrows raised. The long haired girl gave them a sideways glance. "Can I help any of you?" she asked. Kyurem grinned and opened his mouth to voice a snarky comment, but Giratina put his hand on the boy's chest. "Not at the moment. We are all simply very impressed." A sideways smile formed on Zoroark's face.

"Thanks." she said. "Can you guys fight that well?" Giratina chuckled and rested his hands behind his head. "Darkrai is one of the best special attackers I've ever seen, and he's scored a 600 on the BST." Giratina raised an eyebrow at Kyurem.

"I have pretty even stats." said Kyurem. "I scored a 660 on the BST, but under certain circumstances I've gotten a 700…" Giratina turned to face the yellow-eyed boy. "A 700? I've only scored a 680, and 720 is the best you can get. How did you score that high?" Kyurem simply chuckled. "You'll know as soon as we start double battles." he said tauntingly. _Double battles?_ thought Giratina. _The BST is a solo test. Why would having someone else with him matter…?_

Professor Yveltal managed to get the class under control. "That was very entertaining." he said. "But it's time to learn now." The entire class groaned, and Yveltal chuckled. "You've all got textbooks under your desks. Find them and open them up to page four, starting with _Type Effectiveness._ This should all be review…"

/-\\-/-\

The rest of Battle class went without interest to Giratina. His other two classes, _Species Naming_ and _Phantom Physics_ went by even quicker. Soon it was midday, and Giratina went to the campus food court to grab lunch. After grabbing a ham sandwich from the university menu, he walked around, trying to find someone to sit with. Not surprisingly, Darkrai and Kyurem were the only two seated at a 6-person round table. Giratina sat down so that Kyurem was in between himself and Darkrai. As soon as he set his sandwich down, Darkrai greeted him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, my friend." he said. "You survive your classes?" The ghost and dragon type snorted. "Barely. The Physics teacher almost put me to sleep even faster than you could, Darkrai."

Kyurem put his hands up. "Alright, I need you guys to tell me something." Giratina turned his head slightly to face the grey-haired boy. "Yes?"

"What's with your guys' necklaces? One of you stole a Fraxure jaw and the other's wearing a golden spike ball!" Darkrai and Giratina glanced at each other. The former laughed while the latter simply rolled his eyes. "I wear my mask as a representation of my battle capabilities." said Giratina seriously. "When it comes on my face, I become someone entirely different." Kyurem laughed.

"That sounds like an old ninja movie." he said jokingly. "What's it called?" Giratina turned the golden mask over in his hands as he remembered. "The metal used to make this was passed down in my family for generations. My father gave it to me as an orb, and he called it the Griseous Orb. I later reshaped it in the form of this mask."

Kyurem blinked. "Wow. Sounds pretty intense." The Ice-type turned away from Giratina to face Darkrai. "How 'bout you?" Darkrai fingered his red jaw-like necklace anxiously. "I honestly can't remember why I keep putting this on." he said. "It's just become a habit after doing it for so long." Kyurem raised an eyebrow. "Is it a family heirloom? Is it trustingly passed down from generation to generation, each one entrusting its secrets to-."

"I think he gets it, Kyurem." cut-off Giratina, rolling his eyes. Darkrai snorted bemusedly, then returned to fingering his necklace. "It's not an heirloom. Someone…else gave it to me." Giratina couldn't resist slipping a sardonic grin on his face. Darkrai's eyes met Giratina's and the Dark type looked almost pleading. _Don't,_ Darkrai seemed to be thinking. _If you tell Kyurem about this, I'll never hear the end of it for the next twenty centuries._

"So," Kyurem said, interrupting the staring contest. "Get me up to speed." Darkrai raised an eyebrow. "On what?"

"On gossip. I've heard enough about you guys. What are the big rumors, scandals, stuff like that? I want to know what's been going on here before I moved." Giratina snorted. "There's no gossip here." he said. "We haven't had any dramatic betrayals, rivalries, or romances here in about ten years." Kyurem gave a low whistle. "That's a long time." he said. "Somebody should do something about that." Darkrai spoke up next.

"I think we may have a solution to that rivalry problem." he said. "In Battle class earlier, I could definitely tell that…that…" Darkrai stopped talking as Kyurem held a single finger in front of his face. The yellow eyed mischief-maker moved his hand slowly to the side, and Darkrai's cyan blue eyes followed it. Then the finger was moved to the other side of his face, and Darkrai's eyes followed it again. "What the heck are you doing?" asked Darkrai slowly. Kyurem nodded his head and leaned back in his chair. "Just making sure your eyes work fine." he said officially. "Every time you look at me, your eyes go over my shoulder, then to my face."

Giratina turned around to glance behind him, looking for something that would warrant the constant diversion of his friend's attention. His wine-colored eyes came to rest on a blonde girl dressed entirely in a shade of purple-pink. As she talked with her friends, her soft red eyes gleamed with amusement. _Ah,_ thought Giratina with a smirk. _Cresselia._

Giratina returned his gaze to Darkrai, who was rubbing his necklace with slightly more force. Kyurem noticed this as well and looked back at Cresselia, then looked at Darkrai with an eyebrow raised. "So," he said. "No major romances for ten years, huh?" Darkrai went rigid and returned to eating his food. "Yes." said the white haired boy stiffly. Kyurem laughed. "I'm not nearly as annoying as I make myself out to be. I won't press you." Giratina raised an eyebrow. _That's a lot more mature than I thought he was. I wonder what else that boy can do…_

"But you do have to tell me one thing; how long you known her?" Darkrai roughly swallowed a bite of lettuce. "Nine years." he said stiffly. Kyurem gave a low whistle. "Alright. Tick, tock, then." Darkrai growled and clenched his fist. "I'm not the only one with something of interest." he said, pointing a pale finger at Giratina. "I think he's already got some bad blood with green girl from Battle class."

"Rayquaza." recalled Kyurem. "She acts a lot like you, man. How long have _you_ known her?" Giratina rolled his eyes. "I only saw her today; I haven't even spoken to her yet." he said. "There's nothing of interest going on here: although it does appear that we harbor similar dislikes for each other." Kyurem smirked like he'd talked himself into a trap. "You know what they say about that; It's-."

"A 'love-hate relationship'." completed Giratina with his voice bored. "Yes, I've heard that one before. But don't try to apply it to me. I've had Darkrai try that enough already." Kyurem chuckled, and Giratina got the distinct feeling that this would not be the end of this conversation. Kyurem continued to make small talk with Darkrai, while Giratina thought hard. _This year will prove to be interesting,_ he thought. _Three transfer students, twice the pressure about Cresselia to Darkrai, and now a new powerful loner who rivals me… This year will be very interesting indeed._

/-\\-/-\

 **E/N-(Gasps for air) Wow, that one was a lot longer than 1,000 words! I'll be switching on and off between this story and my other one, Monster. If you somehow haven't read it, I highly advise it. Please tell me how I did! Was the battle scene good enough? Did I get all the stat #'s right? (Before anybody says anything, both Machamp and Zoroark can learn Flamethrower in-game.)**

 **Review, Favorite, and Follow…AT YOUR OWN RISK :) :) :) (See my Bio for this to make sense!)**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	2. Battle! (Rayquaza)

**A/N- Hello, peoples! EyeofAmethyst07 here. I've added a few things to my bio, so you can check that out if you'd like. It's nothing life-changing, just a few story ideas of mine. So leave a review and tell me what you think!**

 **Oh, and you should also read this chapter. That would be nice too.**

 **See Chapter One for all disclaimers.**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life, Chapter 2

 _Today is going to be a long day._

This was the first thought to enter Giratina's head as he walked in the Battle Hall that morning. It had already been two weeks since the beginning of the fall semester, but nothing had really changed. Kyurem was still an annoying prankster, Darkrai still refused to go anywhere remotely near Cresselia, and he himself still had an intense rivalry with Rayquaza.

The only difference was that now the entire class knew about it (No doubt the works of Kyurem to 'make something interesting happen in this lump of rock every once in a while'. As he put it). Any time Giratina was in the same room with the amber-eyed girl, whispers would form amongst the students.

Today was no different. The moment he pushed the massive oak doors of the Hall open, the curious whispers began, and many curious glances were thrown his way. However, Giratina also noticed that many glances were thrown towards Kyurem's other two companions; Reshiram and Zekrom. _That's new,_ he thought. _I wonder what trouble those two have gotten themselves into now._

Reshiram and Zekrom had already gotten the reputation of being completely psychotic when within ten yards of each other. Giratina had been present when they had stared the food fight in the food court last Tuesday. He'd heard their most spectacular incident was the one with Reshiram and the highlighter. That one sounded fun. Apparently they were _still_ scrubbing off the stains.

As Giratina approached his seat, he caught Rayquaza's eye. The green-robed girl acknowledged his presence with a small, emotionless nod, and Giratina returned the gesture. Despite what the students whispered between each other, the rivalry between the two loners was not as intense as that of Reshiram and Zekrom; both he and Rayquaza still held a form of mutual respect for each other, in a simple acknowledgement of their power.

Darkrai and Kyurem were in the middle of whispering to themselves when Giratina interrupted by taking his seat in between the two. He raised an eyebrow at Darkrai. "Have you been sucked into Kyurem's whirlwind of gossip about myself and Rayquaza as well?" he asked. Kyurem laughed while Darkrai responded. "Sucked in, yes. About you, no." Giratina raised his eyebrow yet again. "Then who is the subject of this pain?"

Kyurem laughed again and pounded the ghost type on the back. "You make it sound like rumors are a disease." he said jokingly. Giratina kept his expression neutral. "They can be sometimes." he said. Then something white that was heading their way caught his attention, and Giratina's countenance immediately worsened. "… Especially if these rumors are coming from _her._ " Kyurem and Darkrai both looked at each other in confusion until the figure in white put her hands on Giratina's desk and said;

"Hi, Gira."

 _And so it begins._

Giratina sighed and rubbed his forehead in preparation of the massive headache that was bound to spawn. "Greetings, Arceus." he said dully. "And to what do I owe the…pleasure?" Darkrai caught his pause and snorted bemusedly. Arceus herself remained oblivious, and she twirled a finger in her smooth blond hair. "You really think it's a pleasure?" she asked in a false tone of shyness. Darkrai rolled his eyes and Kyurem let out a snort of his own. Giratina sighed again, but before he could correct the ditz, she sat on the front of his desk and said; "Have you heard those rumors yet?"

Giratina could not resist glancing at Kyurem with an expression that said _Seriously?_ The Ice type put his hands up in a gesture of surrender while shaking his head. "What rumors?" asked Giratina tiredly, the headache finally spawning in his head. Arceus giggled. "You haven't heard?" she asked tauntingly. "Someone has been going around and getting people who hate each other together." Giratina snorted and rolled his eyes. "Nice try, Arceus, but I don't think I need to tell you that-."

"Dude." Darkrai tapped Giratina's shoulder and pointed at something behind him. "I think for once she might be telling the truth." Giratina turned in his seat to glance at what his friend was talking about. He saw what Darkrai meant immediately. Two people, one dressed in pink and the other in black, were sitting next to each other, talking while their hands were tightly intertwined.

Giratina's eyebrow went up so high it almost came off his face. "Zoroark and Mewtwo?" he said, turning back to Arceus. "You're kidding me." The white-clad girl shook her head. "Nope. They're together." Darkrai leaned over in his seat to look at Kyurem. "Didn't Zoroark insult Mewtwo's dad?" Kyurem nodded. "Yeah, and the next day Mewtwo came up to her and tried to stab her with a spork?"

Arceus nodded, then leaned over towards Giratina with a playful grin on her lips. "You know, Gira," she began. "You and I have never liked each other." Kyurem began laughing, but he quickly tried to cover it up with a coughing fit. Even though any other guy at the university would practically faint by having Arceus' face so close to their own, Giratina shoved the girl off his desk. "Don't try that." he said tiredly. "I already told you long ago: I don't harbor those kinds of feelings for _anybody,_ and even if I-."

"You do have feelings." Arceus said in a voice of realization. Her shocked expression turned to anger and she turned around for a second to glare at something behind her before turning around again. "You know that little #%$! is manipulating you, right?" Giratina blinked, confused, but he responded quickly regardless. "And you've been doing what, exactly?" he deadpanned. Arceus' mouth upturned into a child-like pout and she angrily stomped off.

Kyurem glanced at Giratina, then to Arceus, then to Darkrai, then back to Giratina. Without looking, the grey-haired boy pointed a finger in the direction that Arceus had stomped off. "How long have you had to-?"

"Eight years." said Giratina, rubbing his temples. "I've dealt with that vixen for eight years." Kyurem blinked, then turned his head to the side in confusion. "Who was she talking about?" he asked honestly. "The girl who was manipulating you?" Giratina sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, Kyurem. She's the only one who's ever approached me in a romantic manner, so there's no way it could be jealousy."

"Not exactly." Both Legend-class students turned to face Darkrai. "What do you mean?" asked Kyurem. Darkrai opened his mouth to voice his incredible theory, but then Professor Yveltal's voice rang out over the mild chatter of the students.

"Return to your seats, people." said the Dark-type professor. "I want you seated before I reach my desk." As people scrambled to find their desks, Giratina glanced at Darkrai and mouthed _Who?_ Darkrai simply jutted his chin out towards the opposite side of the Hall. Giratina turned and was greeted by the sight of Rayquaza. Her countenance was as deadpan as always, and she raised an eyebrow questioningly. Giratina simply turned away to face Darkrai with a raised eyebrow of his own. Darkrai simply touched his jaw-like necklace, his non-verbal signal that meant _dead serious._ Then Darkrai turned to face the Professor as he began calling off names on roll.

Giratina thought about Darkrai's suggestion. _Rayquaza?_ he thought. _I respect her well enough, but I don't think I any feelings towards her at all._ Giratina was about to redirect his train of thought and call it day on emotional searching, but a small voice inside him said; _Then why are you even taking the time to think about this? In every other situation like this that you've had, you've simply shrugged the notion away in half a second. But you're in debate for this one._ This realization left Giratina staring blankly into space. Why was he having such a hard time getting rid of these thoughts? He hoped that the answer would come to him in time, but the voice in his head assured him otherwise. _Feeling confused?_ it asked him. _Good. This is just the beginning of a long and rocky road…_

/-\\-/-\

"As you all know, yesterday was the last day for single battles."

Professor Yveltal's voice rang out over the Hall, cutting off Giratina's thoughts. The cyan eyed professor began pacing in front of his desk. "We will begin our double battle unit today. Since you have all proven your caliber on the battle field to me…" Yveltal stopped pacing as he let his last words hang in the air. "…I will let you choose your partners for this unit."

The Hall immediately exploded into a massive riot of rampant voices calling out to one another. Giratina saw the professor roll his eyes, then charge a ball of darkness in one of his hands. He shot the orb directly over the heads of the students so it exploded over the center of the seats. As the shadowy firework exploded, all conversation immediately ceased. Yveltal lowered his hand and straightened his suit in satisfaction.

"However," he said. "If you keep acting like wild Vigoroth who have drank too many expressos, _I_ will be assigning partners." The professor was met with silence. He nodded approvingly. "You may now choose your partners in a _civilized manner._ " The conversations resumed with much less intensity than before. Kyurem immediately jumped over the row of seats in front of him and dashed off to the opposite side of the Hall. Darkrai blinked as he watched he yellow-eyed boy disappear into the crowd. "Well." he said simply. After a second's silence, Darkrai turned to face Giratina. "So-."

"Would either of you like to be my partner?"

Both boys turned to face the owner of the voice. When Giratina saw who it was, it took all of his self-control not to grin psychotically. "Sorry, Cresselia." he said. "I already have a partner." The happy gleam in the pink-clothed girl's eyes dulled somewhat hearing this. "Oh." she said.

" _However._ " continued Giratina importantly, and he placed a firm hand on Darkrai's shoulder. "Darkrai has yet to choose a partner." Darkrai immediately tensed, and Giratina tightened his grip on the Dark-type's shoulder as a result. Cresselia's sad expression evaporated instantly, quickly replaced by honest glee. "Really?" she asked. "Would you be my partner then, Darkrai?" The expression on Darkrai's face as he erratically gripped his red necklace was absolutely priceless. "Well-."

"He would _love_ to." said Giratina, cutting his friend off. Darkrai glanced at Giratina pleadingly, then at Cresselia. The Psychic type was smiling broadly, and Giratina had to wonder why Darkrai was still indecisive. Then the Dark-type lowered his head and dropped his hand from his necklace. "Yes, fine." he said admittedly. Cresselia squealed in delight and flung her arms around Darkrai, whose face instantly turned the exact same color as his necklace. As the Psychic type dragged the flustered Darkrai away, Giratina couldn't resist leaving a parting comment. "You two have fun, alright?" he said lightly. "I'll be sure to tell Kyurem _all_ about this." The last thing Giratina saw of either student was the look of complete horror on Darkrai's face.

Giratina chuckled to himself as he took his seat again. _That's good,_ he thought. _Hopefully his anti-social skills will be enough._ Giratina noticed that other groups were beginning to sit down. Giratina shook his head. _Partners,_ he mentally scoffed. _Battling requires no teamwork; it relies on simple strength. Who is the most powerful in a group?_ That _is the only thing that matters._ Giratina was roused from his thoughts when Yveltal's voice rang out again.

"Take your seats, ladies and gentlemen." said the Professor succinctly. As the class began to settle down, Giratina noticed Kyurem sitting on the other side of the Hall next to Reshiram, grinning widely. _Reshiram?_ thought Giratina curiously. _Interesting choice._

Yveltal's eyes scanned the room silently, checking and double checking the groups. Then he walked across the battlefield to stand directly in front of his desk. The professor glanced at one side of the Hall, then straight at Giratina. Noticing that the ghost type was alone, he began to smile slightly. _Uh-oh,_ Giratina thought. _What's he planning?_ Yveltal turned around to glance at his class roster before turning around to face the class again. "Would the groups containing Giratina Renegade and Rayquaza Sky please enter the battlefield? I believe we have our first battle."

As Giratina stood nonchalantly and stalked his way down to the floor, he noticed that the whispers of the students started up again. Giratina thought that he saw money exchanging between a few pairs of hands. Giratina made his way to stand alone in the small white arc on the left side of the Hall. As Rayquaza made her way over, Giratina noticed something else;

 _She's alone as well._

Giratina wasn't sure what to make of that. He was pretty sure that Yveltal knew perfectly well that both he and Rayquaza were loners, and would likely not pick to participate in any form of teamwork. _So what is he trying to prove?_

Yveltal smiled. "Neither of you have groups? What a surprise…" Giratina met Rayquaza's deadpan countenance and nodded his head slightly. Rayquaza repeated the gesture and dropped into a battle stance. "Does this mean we are simply fighting each other?" asked the Flying-type. With a start, Giratina realized that this was the first time he'd heard Rayquaza speak. Then he shook his head. _What is wrong with me? Since when do I start noticing_ that _kind of thing?_

Professor Yveltal nodded with a small smile on his face. "This will be the kick-off of sorts for our double battle unit." he said. "Also, after this battle, I will assign you two partners, so you'd better utilize your chance of solo battling while you can." Neither student responded, with both Giratina and Rayquaza dropping into their respective battle stances. Yveltal chuckled at this for some reason Giratina couldn't put his finger on. "I have a feeling this battle will be very entertaining to watch. This battle will continue until I deem it fit to end."

Giratina raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes of Rayquaza. "Not until one of us is unable to continue, Professor?"

Yveltal smiled. "Ready?" he asked, not answering the question. Both students nodded assent, and the soft excited chatter between students ceased in anticipation.

"Fight!"

/-\\-/-\

"Aura Sphere!"

"Dragon Pulse!"

The two massive streams of energy collided in mid-air, exploding as they did. Neither battler was unfazed and Giratina moved into action, closing the distance between himself and Rayquaza. Giratina spread both of his hands as he ran, charging twin orbs of purple shadow. Rayquaza waited for half a second, then jumped in the air, sailing straight over Giratina. As he whirled around, he heard her yell;

"Fly!"

Giratina had no time to react and the Flying-type slammed into him at full force, knocking him back. As a side effect, the Shadow Balls that had been in his hands exploded, doubling the damage. Rayquaza gracefully twirled in midair and landed squarely on her feet in the other side of the battlefield. Giratina, clothes smoking, stood in the opposite side. He knew that Rayquaza was not going to be defeated easily. _My 120 defenses would normally help,_ he thought. _But I need higher attack now._

Before Rayquaza could continue her onslaught, Giratina reached for the Griseous Mask at his neck and slipped it on. His body immediately glowed a deep purple, and he felt his form changing. His head elongated and the mask fully closed around his face. His arms and legs morphed into the rest of his body as his torso thickened and elongated. Golden spikes jutted out from his long, serpentine body, and six ghostly tendrils sprung out from his back, each topped with a razor sharp blood-red claw.

The glow faded and Giratina opened his mouth, letting out a massive roar. "SSKKRRREEEAAHHH!" The entire class gasped, and Giratina caught a flicker of surprise cross Rayquaza's face. Not letting her take the time to register his transformation, he flew towards her. The tips on his tendril glowed evilly, and he thought, _Shadow Claw!_

Giratina sideswiped Rayquaza with his tendrils, knocking her into the center of the arena. Although the amber eyed girl was quick to recover, Giratina once again approached, with an orb of orange energy charged in his mouth. _Aura Sphere!_

Rayquaza was barely able to roll out of the way as Giratina's massive form rushed over her. Giratina turned around and paused, glaring at his opponent with his pure wine-red eyes. Rayquaza smirked and held out her hand, which was glowing white. "Ice Beam!" she said and a steady beam of freezing energy blasted its way to Giratina. Just before it hit his chest, Giratina's body wrapped itself in shadow, and he disappeared. The Ice Beam hit the far wall, freezing some curtains that had been hanging.

Rayquaza turned in circles, intently scanning the battlefield for any signs of her enemy. After completing a full check, she spread her arms wide and spoke. "Dragon Ascent." Giratina watched from his place in the netherworld as Rayquaza's body glowed strongly, much like his own had when he was making his transformation. When the light dulled, a massive creature hovered where Rayquaza had once been standing. Its body was a long green trunk that was almost as long as he was, with the V-like patterns from her trench coat encircling her thin body. Her head narrowed towards her mouth, and long spikes stuck out past her jawline. Thin streams of yellow hair-like strands whipped behind her head like there was a massive storm.

As it turned out, there was a massive storm. The moment the light faded from around Rayquaza's body, hurricane-speed winds whipped throughout the Hall. Binders and loose sheets of paper went flying as Rayquaza hovered in the air, talons outstretched. Giratina waited for another second, hypnotized by Rayquaza's new form. _Impressive Mega evolution,_ thought the basilisk-like student. _Her power has most likely increased greatly._ Giratina stared for a little while longer until Rayquaza roared. Somehow, Giratina could understand her speech.

[Still hiding, Giratina?]

Growling, Giratina reappeared behind the evolved Legend-Class and roared himself. [Shadow Force!] Rayquaza didn't even have time to turn around before the basilisk slammed into her at full force. However, the attack did not send her flying against the wall. As she reoriented herself, Giratina smirked as best he could in his Origin Forme. [Not hiding in the slightest.] he growled to the Flying-type. Rayquaza's mouth was immediately filled with deep blue glow.

[Hyper Beam!]

Giratina's eyes widened. A massive beam of energy surged from Rayquaza's mouth straight towards Giratina's face. However, the attack simply passed right through him as if he were a ghost. Which he was.

As the beam exploded against the far wall, everybody froze. Most of the students were looking at each other with looks of shock, while Yveltal simply chuckled to himself. Even though her face in no way resembled that of a human's, the look on Rayquaza's scaly snout was absolutely priceless. Giratina laughed, although to the class it probably sounded like a terrifying roar. [A Normal-type attack on a Ghost-type?] he asked mockingly. [I thought you were better than that.]

Rayquaza snarled and opened her mouth to charge an attack. Nothing happened, and she closed her mouth in frustration. [The heat of battle tends to do that to us.] she growled. [I am not the only one to have made mistakes in this battle, Giratina.] The floating basilisk drew closer to his opponent, circling her slowly. Rayquaza's large amber eyes followed him suspiciously, but she never turned her body to follow him, which Giratina found odd.

[You used a committed move.] said Giratina as he passed behind Rayquaza. [Now you have to wait for me to attack…] As he passed by Rayquaza's front again, she snarled. [Then why don't you finish me?] she asked. Giratina floated directly over Rayquaza's body. [Who said I wasn't finishing you?]

Before she had time to interpret his words, Giratina touched his face plate with one of his tendrils, and he reverted to his humanoid form. No longer able to hover, he landed on whatever happened to be below him; in this case, it was Rayquaza's massive head. Before she had time to throw him off Giratina raised his hands to the sky "Thunder!"

A jagged bolt of thick lightning struck both Rayquaza's head and the Ghost type that was on it. Rayquaza bucked violently, sending Giratina flying off her scaly hide. The violent winds helped carry his body against the wall with a sickening _SMACK!_

Dazed, Giratina tried desperately to stand. While he was standing up, Rayquaza shook her head and glared daggers at him. "GRROOOOOAAAAR!" she roared. _She wasn't even fazed by that attack,_ he realized. _Why have I been so careless during this battle? I could have simply ended this with a well-placed Dragon Claw._

Giratina rose to his feet and encased his left hand in a soft purple aura. He knew what he had to do to end the battle, but for some reason, he didn't want to. He wanted to continue fighting with Rayquaza. For some odd reason Giratina could not fathom, battling with the amber-eyed girl gave him a unique thrill that went unexperienced in all of his years of fighting.

Rayquaza roared loudly, snapping the Ghost-type out of his thoughts. Rayquaza's claws glowed purple, and she flew towards him, determined to end the battle he was unwilling to. Giratina closed his eyes and raised his hand, using one final move.

"Destiny Bond."

His hand glowed with renewed intensity. Just as Rayquaza swiped with her massive talon, Giratina reached out with his extended hand and touched the nearest thing to him: The end of Rayquaza's snout. Then her rough talon connected with his side, sending him flying against the wall. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was seeing the shocked expression of Rayquaza in the moment he had touched her snout.

 **E/N- That's Chapter Two for you! I hope you enjoyed Rayquaza vs. Giratina as much as I did. Sorry about the sudden ending right here, but if I kept going, this would have doubled in size…**

 **I wonder what tortures Cresselia has planned for Darkrai… (laughs maniacally) We will be seeing those two battle together, so you Lunareclipse fans, just sit tight!**

 **If you've got some spare time on your hands, check out my updated Bio! (Not a necessity)**

 **So Review, Favorite, and Follow… AT YOUR OWN RISK! :) :) :)**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	3. Motives

**A/N-Hello again! This is EyeofAmethyst07, back with a new chapter.**

 **Sorry about the wait time, but you guys know: School will eat up your time until you live by the period bell and the alarm clock. There's also the miniscule fact that I'm juggling three chaptered stories now…**

 **Yeah. I need planning skills.**

 **Thank you for those kind people (read: person) who has left a review! Even though I leave a standard "warning" at the end of each of my chapters, that's no reason not to leave a comment! I need all the advice I can get! Please tell me what you think!**

 **Disclaimers in Chapter 1**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life: Chapter 3

" _Giratina….."_

" _Wake up…."_

" _Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock…"_

Giratina's eyes snapped open. He was greeted with the sight of a wristwatch swaying over his head. Then Giratina looked at who was holding it, and he groaned.

Kyurem was standing over him, dangling his watch over Giratina's head with a giant grin on his face. Behind him stood Darkrai, who was rolling his eyes. Giratina sat up, and he snatched the watch out of Kyurem's hand. "Give it a rest, will you?" he said. "We need to get going to our next class." Kyurem laughed at this comment, and Darkrai shook his head. "Actually, we don't." he said simply. "Considering how today is Sunday."

Giratina froze. "What?" he said. "I fought Rayquaza on Tuesday!" Darkrai chuckled. "Yes, you did." he said. "But she knocked you out for five days." Giratina drank in what Darkrai had said while he glanced around at the room he was in. The square room was made up of blank white walls, and only a few chairs and operating tables, like the one he was on, dotted the room. "Am I in the hospital?" he asked.

Kyurem laughed again. "No, you're in the campus Recovery room." said the Ice-type. "Rayquaza gave you _quite_ the royal beating." Giratina rolled his eyes as he recalled the fight. "She didn't win." he said simply. "I used Destiny Bond." Kyurem and Darkrai glanced at each other, with widening grins on each of their faces. Giratina's brow furrowed. "What is it?" he asked cautiously. "Did the attack miss?"

Darkrai snorted. "Oh, the attack worked, alright." he said with a tone Giratina couldn't quite place. "But it's really nothing." Giratina raised an eyebrow at his friend's odd tone. "So how did things go for you guys?" Kyurem thumped his chest proudly. "Reshiram and I won our battle by a landslide. Super easy." Darkrai chuckled. "Cresselia and I haven't fought anyone yet." he said.

Kyurem grinned. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me." he said. "Yveltal's making us arrange private training sessions with our partners now. Guess how many hours a week we have to log?" Giratina shook his head, unsure.

"Fourteen hours."

Giratina whistled as best he could from the bed. "That's quite a while. Two hours a day?" Kyurem nodded, then nudged Giratina's chest. The Ice type jerked his head towards Darkrai. "That makes for a lot of alone time, doesn't it?" Giratina smirked as Darkrai punched Kyurem in the back.

"How many times do I need to tell you to shut up about that?" he asked, and Kyurem laughed in response.

"As many as you need to, buddy." said the Ice-type. "You need to step up to the plate and swing, my friend. If you stand there doing nothing, you'll strikeout."

Darkrai scoffed. "You know, I need to find you a love interest so I can annoy _you_ for a change." Kyurem laughed. "I don't think that'll be easy." he said. Giratina groaned, rolling his eyes. "Can you two leave?" he asked weakly. "I need time to think." Kyurem laughed and opened his mouth to comment, but Darkrai grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him out the door.

The Ghost-type laid his head back against the pillow on the medical bed and sighed. _I need to sleep,_ he thought. _The last thing I need right now is more surprises._ So of course, the second he closed his eyes, he hears this;

"That's quite the group of friends you've got there."

Giratina sighed before opening his eyes and sitting up to face the speaker. In a small chair in front of him, there sat a girl dressed in a green trench coat. Her green hair hung lazily from her head, and she held an ice pack on her ribs with her right hand.

Giratina raised an eyebrow. "They're friends, Rayquaza." he said. "They have an excuse to be abnormal." Although Rayquaza's deadpan never faltered, her amber eyes reflected light for a second. Giratina readjusted himself on the bed before continuing.

"You are not a friend, however," he said. "Why visit me?" Rayquaza chuckled. "For one, thanks to your Destiny Bond, I'm just as hurt as you are." she said. "And for two, the Professor wants to talk to you once you are feeling well enough. He's waiting outside." Giratina went silent, studying Rayquaza's face. Her amber eyes narrowed in slight suspicion. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked. "The two reasons I gave were perfectly reasonable."

"They were." said Giratina suddenly. "But I'm waiting for you to tell me the third." Rayquaza scoffed. "There's no need for me to voice a reason that doesn't exist." she said evenly. Giratina smirked. "Of course not." he said. Groaning slightly, Giratina sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Rayquaza stood up suddenly, her hand still on the ice pack that was pressed against her ribs. "Don't get up." she said quickly.

Giratina cocked his head to the side, giving the female Dragon-type a sideways glance. "Is this concern I hear?" he asked tauntingly. Rayquaza kept her face neutral. When she didn't respond, Giratina rose to his feet, grunting at the pain that throbbed from his ribs at his efforts. He took a step towards the door, then stumbled. As he caught himself on the back post of the bed, he noticed Rayquaza lurching forward slightly. Giratina straightened and raised his eyebrow at his rival's odd behavior. Something clicked in his head in that moment.

"I thought you said you were just as hurt as I was." said the Ghost-type. "So I don't see why I have to stay on a bed for the next week while you can move at will." Rayquaza gave no facial response. "You should know why." she said. "When Destiny Bond is used, the victim of the attack doesn't just succumb to the physical exhaustion of the user. An emotional link is made." Giratina nodded, already aware of how the move worked.

"That still doesn't explain how you were able to recover faster than I did." said Giratina. Rayquaza said nothing in response, simply walking over to the door. Before she opened it, she tilted her head back slightly to leave a parting comment. "I enjoyed our battle, Giratina." she said. Then Rayquaza walked out the door.

Before the steel and glass door had time to shut completely, a hand from outside the room stopped it, and Yveltal walked in. The neatly-dressed professor scanned Giratina's body before smiling slightly.

"Well enough to stand already, I see." he said, and Giratina simply nodded in response. Yveltal, still holding the door with one of his hands, opened it wider. "Care to take a walk with me?"

Giratina put one of his hands on his ribs, and he suddenly wished he could use Rayquaza's ice pack. "Could I ask what this is about?" Yveltal smiled knowingly. "For one, I need to talk to you about your partner choice…or lack, thereof." Giratina chuckled at these words.

"Also, I do need to show you something...I honestly believe it will serve you well." Intrigued, Giratina nodded and followed the professor out the door, wincing a few times as his ribs throbbed painfully. Just before he walked out the door, something shiny caught his eye. Giratina looked over at the seat that Rayquaza had been sitting in. On it were two things; his Griseous Mask and a blue ice pack. A sticky note was on the pack, and written on it in neat handwriting was:

 _In the quite likely event you get up:_

 _Use this. Don't injure yourself._

– _Rayquaza_

Giratina slipped the mask over his neck and grabbed the ice pack with his free hand. He could imagine Rayquaza standing in front of him, arms crossed, telling him not injure himself with her deadpan expression. For some odd reason, he found himself smiling slightly at the image. Shaking his head, Giratina followed the Professor out the door.

/-\\-/-\

"You knew, didn't you?"

Yveltal glanced at the Ghost-type as they walked across the neatly trimmed grass of the campus. The grass hissed gently in the breeze. "Know what?"

Giratina snorted. "You know what I'm talking about." said the student. "You knew that neither Rayquaza nor myself had partners. Why make us battle each other?"

Yveltal chuckled, but didn't look at his student. "You enjoyed it, did you not?" Giratina winced at these words. _That was because of my ribs,_ he thought. _No other reason._

"I must admit that the battle was… more satisfying than others." relented Giratina. "But that is beside the point. Why make us battle each other? What are you trying to prove?"

Yveltal stopped suddenly, and Giratina almost fell on his face trying to stop in line with the professor. He noticed that they'd stopped right in front of the deer-like statue that stood in front of the Battle Hall. Even though it was overcast, the grey stone seemed to contrast sharply against the Hall.

"You are both powerful, Giratina."

The Ghost-type raised an eyebrow at the professor's odd tone. He almost sounded wistful, but that was so out of character for Yveltal that Giratina simply shoved the thought aside.

"Both you and Rayquaza are independent. You need no help from anybody in anything, and if help was offered, you would reject it. You see no need for teamwork when you could simply power through by yourself. Rivalries are not simply born from bad blood, they are born from a challenge to your dominance. You are both immortal, Giratina, and you intend to live forever."

Giratina's eyebrow almost came off his face at hearing these words come from his professor's mouth. _Who is this man, really?_ Giratina asked himself. _That is the most apt description of myself that I've ever heard in my life, and from what I've seen of Rayquaza, the same holds true for her._

"What did you want to tell me, Yveltal?" Although Giratina was expecting an angry reaction at using the man's first name, the professor simply smiled with that same wistful expression on his face as before. Looking at the statue forlornly, Yveltal placed a hand on the deer's front leg. He said nothing.

Giratina's ribs throbbed again, and he pressed Rayquaza's ice pack closer to his chest. "Who are you, Yveltal? Really." Yveltal still said nothing, his hand never coming off of the statue. Giratina felt a twinge of something odd, but he quickly shove the thought aside.

"What thing is that a statue of?" asked Giratina suddenly.

"It's not a thing."

Giratina blanched. "What?"

"It's a person." said Yveltal solemnly. Giratina glanced at the statue again. "How can that be a-?"

Yveltal chuckled, cutting off the Ghost-type off. "An alternate form." he said. "And quite a powerful one at that. When I was a student here, I was much like you, Giratina." Yveltal glanced at the student that stood next to him. "I was a powerful loner, without the need of any help. Or anyone."

Giratina said nothing, still shocked by the fact that Yveltal was making what he perceived to be some form of a confession.

"Then I walked into the Battle Hall one night." continued Yveltal. "I was attempting to get some training time to myself. However, when I opened those oak doors, someone was already there." Yveltal sighed as he removed his hand from the base of the statue and thrust it into his pocket. "Her." he said, looking at the statue.

"Her?" asked Giratina.

A small smile graced the front of Yveltal's face. "Xerneas Life." he said strangely, like the name was something sacred. "I ended up training with her for the next three years, neither of us saying more to each other than the occasional 'Nice shot'." Giratina nodded. _Sounds like Rayquaza and I._

"That was the worst mistake I ever made."

Giratina blanched yet again. _Geez, this guy is one surprise after another._

"Xerneas ended up moving to another district at the beginning of our senior year." continued Yveltal. "After that, I dropped from the Battle program."

Giratina coughed on his last breath. _Give me a chance to breathe in between life-changing confessions, alright?_ "Why?" asked Giratina. "It sounds like you were the top student."

Yveltal chuckled bitterly. "I was. But battling was never the same. Every opponent was too easy, and there was no excitement. Above all, I simply wanted to see Xerneas again." Giratina snorted. "Why?" he asked coldly, ignoring the professor's sad tone. "There are always other strong people that you can battle."

Yveltal turned to face the Ghost-type face to face. The gleam in the Dark-type's eyes made Giratina take an unconscious step back. There was a fire in his eyes, fueled not by rage, but by sadness, desire, and…

"I loved her."

…regret.

Yveltal clenched his fist and pounded the statue's pedestal angrily. "There's only so much that can happen when one is in another's company for three years. I began to love her, Giratina, because she saw the world as I did. The only difference, though…"

Yveltal bowed his head. "She though what you think: There was no need for teamwork. At all. Even to things outside of battle…" Yveltal finally went silent and Giratina tried to ignore the silvery liquid that was making its way down the professor's face. _This destroyed him,_ Giratina realized. _But this could never happen to me. It's not possible. I_ know _I don't harbor feelings for Rayquaza._ Then that little annoying voice in the back of his head spoke up.

 _You've only known her for a month,_ it told him. _That leaves 35 months to go before you can be sure._

Giratina prepared to fire back at the voice, but Yveltal placed a hand on the Ghost-type's shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. "I'm assigning you to be partners with Rayquaza." said the Dark-type strongly. "Don't do anything you'll regret." Giratina laughed, in spite of himself.

"You think I love the little green snake?" asked Giratina lightly. Yveltal simply straightened his suit in response. "No." he said. The professor then turned on his heel and began marching up the steps of the Hall. Before he closed the oak doors behind him, Giratina heard Yveltal say something.

"Not yet."

/-\\-/-\

Kyurem dashed into the Recovery room, throwing the door open. "Giratina, I-." The Ice type stopped short when he looked around the room and realized a miniscule detail:

The room was empty.

 _I guess the Professor already left with Giratina,_ he thought. Kyurem looked to a chair that stood next to the door. On it was a yellow sticky note. Kyurem picked it up and read it carefully, noting the fine handwriting. A smirk slowly spread across his face. Kyurem turned around and marched out of the room, the door swinging lightly shut behind him.

 _It worked,_ he thought. _That's interesting. I wonder how this will play out._

He crumpled up the note and tossed it into a nearby waste bin.

 _Time for part two._

/-\\-/-\

 **E/N-There's Chapter Three for you! How about Kyurem's smirk, huh? Leave a review and predict what he's planning!**

 **Also, Xerneas was simply added to the story for two reasons: one, to make Yveltal seem human, and two, to effectively slap Giratina in the face. But of course, he just shrugs it off…**

 **There will be a battle scene in the next one, I promise! This was more of an expositional chapter, though.**

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review… AT YOUR OWN RISK :) :) :) (Not really, of course…)**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	4. How Much Longer?

**A/N- Hello from Eyeofamethyst07!**

 **Although my other stories are pretty dry when it comes to ideas this one, for some reason, is always raring to go. Dunno why…**

 **Many thanks to CrimsonTrainer-4395 for commenting on every chapter! Remember, every review helps my story, even if it's just a passing 'good job'.**

 **Oh, and it also boosts my incredibly fragile, nerdy ego. So, yeah. No pressure. ;)**

 **See Chapter 1 for all disclaimers.**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life, Chapter 4

"This is pointless."

Giratina raised an eyebrow at his newly-assigned training partner. Both students were standing on opposing sides of the Battle Hall battlefield. Yveltal had granted them exclusive use of the Hall for training, and Giratina suspected that his talk with the professor the previous day had been the cause of it. _Every day for three years? Lord._

"Are we just to stand around staring at each other, then?" asked Giratina. "We need at least two hours in here, so we can stare or we can at least _try_ to train." Rayquaza sighed and sat down, legs crossed. Her amber eyes glanced at him tiredly, as if they'd been debating about it for over an hour. Which they had been, of course.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" she asked emotionlessly. "Our attempt at target practice didn't go so well, if you recall." Giratina winced as he remembered their ill-fated attempt. They would eventually have to tell _someone_ where the professor's lamp went. Rayquaza sighed and closed her eyes, turning away slightly. "This is pointless, Giratina." she said. "I see no need for this. We're powerful enough alone, and as long we don't hit each other, we'll be perfectly fine. No matter who Yveltal sends against us."

Giratina was about to agree, but he stopped with his mouth partially open. Stupidly, he was reminded of his recent conversation with Yveltal. _She thought what you think: There was no need for teamwork. At all._ That was what Giratina had believed, up to now, at any rate. Of course, now, he was honestly starting to rethink that policy….

"Your gaping mouth is certainly an odd change from the typical deadpan, Giratina."

The Ghost-type in question closed his mouth and sighed. He was about to fire back a snippy comment to make himself feel better when an idea sparked in is brain. _Worth a shot._ Giratina cautiously made his way over to where Rayquaza was seated. "Let's try something." he said. "Just one thing." Rayquaza's head lifted to meet his wine-red gaze. She had one of her eyebrows raised.

"And that would be…?"

Giratina spread his hands. "We each do one battle move we've never shown to anyone else." Rayquaza's eyebrow rose higher. "What is the point of that?"

"To better know our moves. We'll need to work together at one point or another, so we might as well start now." Rayquaza stood and put her hands on her hips. Giratina forced himself to maintain eye contact.

"What are you trying to pull, Giratina?" Rayquaza asked. "You've never wanted to work with anyone, not even your friends. What makes this so different?" Giratina thought well before answering. _She is right, though,_ he thought. _I've never cared about anything like this before. So why am I letting Yveltal's talk get the better of me now? It makes no sense._

"It benefits us both, not only for our class," began Giratina. "But also for when we battle each other." Rayquaza raised an eyebrow skeptically. "How did you reach that conclusion?"

"If we use new moves around each other constantly, then it forces us to change our style." he said. "Each battle will always be different." Giratina waited as Rayquaza pondered his offer. Then he thought of something.

"I can go first." he said. "To allay any suspicions you may have." Rayquaza smirked, still keeping eye contact. "Fine." she said. "But I'm only going if I think your 'move' is sufficient." Giratina scoffed.

"I'm so glad you have some trust in me, Rayquaza. I can tell we're getting along well." The amber-eyed girl smirked.

"Of course. Now, let's see what you've got, Giratina."

Giratina nodded, and backed up a few paces. He spread his hands wide and closed his eyes in concentration. Nothing happened.

"…"

"…I'm still waiting, Giratina." said Rayquaza eventually. Giratina opened an eye. "How do you know I'm not charging a Psychic attack?" Rayquaza snorted. "Because you're a Ghost-type who likes to do his work up close and personal." she said. Giratina shrugged. "Fair enough. I just wanted to build suspense."

Rayquaza tilted her head down in a clear _get on with it_ fashion. Giratina rolled his eyes and sighed, lowering his hands. "Fine."

Suddenly, two shadowy wings sprung from his back, each having three red spikes on them. Giratina was watching the girl in front of him intently, and he held back a grin when a fleeting trace of surprise crossed her face. _Why do I feel good about that?_

Giratina flapped the ebony membranes once, slightly lifting off the ground. "Well?" he asked. "Is this sufficient?" Rayquaza approached him, deadpan set back into her sharp features. She suddenly reached out and grabbed one of the wings, sending a tremor through his body. Whether she knew it or not, his wings were extremely sensitive, and her touch made him flinch back.

His recoil was rewarded with a raised eyebrow from Rayquaza, her amber eyes suspicious. "Don't tell me the mighty Giratina can't withstand the touch of a girl." she said. Giratina growled and glanced at her with slight contempt. "I'm not a schoolgirl, Rayquaza." he said coldly. "My wings are sensitive. There is no need to elevate yourself to that level of appeal."

Rayquaza scoffed. "I was joking, Giratina." she said expectantly. "It was you who twisted my words. I do not let my life revolve around petty emotions. I was quite certain that you didn't either."

"I don't." snapped Giratina, pulling his wing out of her grasp, but not folding them away. "Now let's see _your_ special talent. What can you do?"

Rayquaza stepped back, but she raised her eyebrow first. "Quick question: can you do the six tendrils, like in your alternate form?"

Giratina shook his head. "It's called an _Origin Forme,_ and no, I cannot. Let's see what you can do instead." Rayquaza rolled her head and cracked her fingers. "Alright. Here goes." Rayquaza closed her eyes and held one of her hands up, as if trying to levitate something.

Giratina rolled his eyes. "You're very funny, Rayquaza." he said. "But if you're going to be a nuisance, then at least be original about it."

"GRRRROOOOOOAAARR!"

Giratina flinched as Rayquaza opened her eyes. Giving the girl in front of him a once-over, he realized that she hadn't changed forms. "Where-?" Giratina blinked. "Where did that come from?" Rayquaza smirked.

"You have no idea how satisfying it is to see you like that." she said smugly. She then jerked her chin at something over his shoulder. "Take a look."

Giratina obeyed, and when he saw what she was talking about, he opened his mouth, closed it, then said; "Um."

Staring right at him was a spectral image of Rayquaza's Mega Evolution. Its entire body was glowing a translucent green. It did nothing but stare at him as he scanned it cautiously. Without looking back at Rayquaza, he asked;

"How long have you been able to do this?"

Rayquaza walked in between her spectral doppelganger and Giratina, and she stroked its snout as she answered. "Just learned how to do it last year. This thing has three-fourths of my BST score, and only responds to me." The specter roared at Giratina again, and the Ghost-type slipped his Griseous Mask on, reverting to his Origin Forme. Now a 20-foot basilisk, he roared loudly at the specter.

"SKREEEAAAH!"

"GRROOAARR!" Unlike the actual Rayquaza, Giratina noticed, this specter was unable to communicate with him through their roars.

The original amber-eyed battler laughed out loud and grew into her Mega Evolution, so that Giratina was left staring at two identical serpents, the only difference being their coloring. The real Rayquaza growled quietly.

[Do you know how ridiculous you look?] she said. [You're practically talking to a ghost.]

Giratina smirked as best he could in his Origin Forme. [Good thing I am one.] he said. [And since when did that kind of thing catch your eye?]

Both Rayquazas growled. [Since never. It means nothing. Simply a slip of the tongue.] Then, the actual Rayquaza's snout contorted into what appeared to be a contemplative expression.

[Why don't you show up to class tomorrow with your wings out?] she asked. Giratina raised a serpentine eyebrow. [What would be the benefit of that?]

Rayquaza hunched her neck in an attempt at a shrug. [Effect. You know intimidation can tip the scales of a battle.]

Giratina chuckled. [You thought I looked intimidating?] he asked tauntingly. [Glad you think so highly of me.]

Rayquaza rolled her enormous eyes. [I was talking from the perspective of a weak opponent.] she countered. [Not from that of a skilled rival.]

 _THUMP_

Both Legend-Class students whirled to face the oaken doors to the Hall. The specter disappeared and both students returned to their human forms. They scaled the steps quickly and quietly, neither of them saying a word. As soon as they reached the top, Giratina threw the doors open, and they were greeted with the sight of…

Nothing. Not a single thing was standing in the doorway.

Giratina glanced at his partner. "I didn't imagine that noise." he said. Rayquaza nodded. "I know. Whoever did this ran away immediately." Giratina waved her comment aside as he stepped outside the Hall. "I don't care about who so much." he said. "I'm more about the why. What's the point?" Rayquaza faced him, with the slightest sliver of uneasiness visible in her deadpan. "I don't know, Giratina." she said. "But they honestly aren't much more than a simpleton prankster."

Something suddenly shoved Giratina roughly in his back. Although he was preparing to whirl around to face his assaulter, every thought of pursuit was vacated from his mind as he realized what he'd been shoved against.

Rayquaza.

As Giratina straightened, he noticed how their faces were no less than an inch apart. He could feel Rayquaza's warm breath on his lips, and her amber eyes looked so much deeper up close than they did from afar. _Why aren't I moving?_ he thought. _Why_ can't _I move?_ Once, Giratina had been paralyzed by a Luxray, and he hadn't been able to move for a whole day. This was somehow worse. Giratina could still move, but he felt like his entire body was resisting him. He then duly noticed how his heart rate had increased. _Now what?_ he thought. _I'm not afraid of anything, am I?_

Rayquaza suddenly shoved Giratina away, and as she straightened her trench coat, he swore he saw a small discoloring in her cheeks. Then he mentally kicked himself. _Since when do I care about that kind of thing?_ Giratina heard that ever-present voice from the back of his head nag at him. _Since one month ago._

Rayquaza straightened and nodded at Giratina. "Good session, Giratina." she said in an emotionless attempt, but Giratina could pick out a miniscule tremor in her voice. "See you in class tomorrow." With that, the amber-eyed battler stalked down the stairs, never once looking back. Giratina didn't move, deep in thought. _What is wrong with me?_ he wondered. _I've been acting less and less like myself._

Something nudged against Giratina's foot suddenly. Looking down, he saw what it was.

It was a grey skateboarding helmet.

/-\\-/-\

Darkrai waited in his seat on Tuesday morning. The Battle Hall was filled with students who were chattering lightly, but neither Darkrai's friends nor the professor had shown up yet.

"'Sup?"

…Until now.

Darkrai turned in his seat to face Kyurem as he took his seat one down to Darkrai's left. "Nothing much." he said. "Waiting for someone to talk to." Kyurem grinned and leaned over Giratina's empty seat. "I noticed that Cresselia was here pretty early." he said.

Darkrai coughed. "I had enough talking time with her during our training session yesterday." Kyurem's grin widened, and Darkrai immediately regretted his word choice. Before he could comment, though-.

 _BOOM!_

The oaken doors flew open, and every head in the Hall turned to the entrance. Giratina was standing there, not moving. Darkrai caught Kyurem rolling his eyes.

Then, two wings of black shadow sprang out from his shoulders, each topped with red claws. Darkrai grinned to himself. _He wants to make an impression,_ he said. _But the question is, for who?_ Darkrai spared a glance at Rayquaza, who was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed, with a sly, satisfied smirk plastered across her face. Darkrai narrowed his electric blue eyes. _I'll need to interrogate Giratina on that._

The Ghost-type in question flapped his wings of shadow and glided over to his desk, neatly landing in between Kyurem and Darkrai. Some of the classroom chatter resumed, but Darkrai and Kyurem just stared. Giratina gave them a sideways glance. "Don't act like this is the most shocking thing you've ever seen me do." he said. Kyurem shook his head.

"No, dude, you're not getting us." he said. "With those wings, plus the gold stuff on your coat, you look like a total _badass,_ man." Giratina raised an eyebrow. "That's what you'd describe me as?" He turned to Darkrai. "And you?"

Darkrai chuckled. "Conflicted." he said. "Or oblivious. Either one." Giratina's raised eyebrow went even higher on his face. "I might be able to level with you on conflicted." he said, and Darkrai couldn't help thinking; _Oh, really? Conflicted about what, exactly?_ "But I'm not sure where you got 'oblivious' from." Giratina completed, still looking at Darkrai.

The Dark-type nodded his head at Rayquaza, and Giratina's head followed his gesture, before turning back. Was it his imagination, or did a sliver of anxiety find its way into his deadpan? "Rayquaza?" he said. "I honestly thought we were past this 'love-hate' stuff. How exactly does this make me oblivious?"

Darkrai chuckled. "You didn't see the way she was eyeballing you." he said.

"I did, actually." said Giratina abruptly. "We had agreed that it would be a demonstration of resolve if I showed with wings today." Kyurem grinned, and he nudged Giratina's shoulder. "When did you two reach this agreement?" he asked foxily. Giratina held his yellow gaze expressionlessly. "During our training session." he said simply. "Don't start getting too suggestive, Kyurem, or I might have to make sure Reshiram will need to get another partner."

Although Kyurem put his hands up in a placating gesture, Darkrai grinned to himself. _He's defensive,_ he thought. _I'll need to pry more information out of him eventually._

All scheming thoughts and small talk was brought to a standstill, however, when Yveltal entered and began calling roll.

/-\\-/-\

Yveltal called out the last name on roll, then closed his binder and faced the class. "We are nearing the midpoint of our Double Battle unit, as most of you likely know." he said. "So, as I do every year, we will be holding a class tournament." Excited chatter filled the Hall until Yveltal simply raised his hand. Most of the students were now wary of the professor's high marksmanship, and all talking ceased immediately.

"This is going to commence in a single-elimination bracket format, so no second chances will be given." continued Yveltal. He paused for a second, then resumed. "Did I also forget to mention that the winning group will represent our school in the University World Tournament?" The Hall exploded into a frenzy of excited chatter. Even Giratina and Rayquaza looked mildly impressed.

 _The UWT?_ thought Darkrai. _The biggest tournament this world knows? Yveltal must trust our skills a lot if he's turning this into tryouts._ Darkrai followed the Professor's gaze as it swept from side to side. Darkrai suddenly noticed that he was only looking at two people: and by sheer coincidence, these two people were already looking at each other.

 _Rayquaza and Giratina._

As Darkrai thought about it, it made more and more sense. _Of course,_ he thought. _Those two have given themselves the name of 'toughest ever'. If they get beat, no one will ever let them live it down. They'll fight for pride, and everyone else will fight for fame. Smart._

 _BOOOM!_

A massive ball of dark energy exploded over the heads of the students. As the talking died down, Yveltal continued. "One other small detail: the first battle is right now." Murmurs spread across the class, but Yveltal stopped it with a wave of his hand. "I will post the bracket tomorrow at 9:00. You must submit a team name by then." Then he looked down at his list.

"Unless you are in the groups containing Darkrai Pitch and Lucario Aura. This will be our first tournament stand-off. Please confer with your partner and make an appropriate team name, then make your way to the battlefield."

Darkrai immediately stood up and made his way over to the center of the battlefield, where Yveltal was waiting. Cresselia got there as soon as he did. "Hi Darkrai!" she said lightly.

As it did every time he saw Cresselia, Darkrai's heart went through a calisthenics routine. He hated it, but there was only so much he could do to keep it under wraps. "Hi, Cresselia." he replied nervously.

"I have an idea on our team name." she said. Darkrai cracked a miniscule smile. "Let's try to avoid anything with 'pink' in it, alright?" he said preemptively. Cresselia pouted cutely. "Oh alright, you half-moon." she said. 'Half-moon' was Cresselia's nickname for him, because, as she put it; "You're fun to be around, but you act like fun annoys you." This sparked an idea.

"How about Half-Moon as a team name?" he suggested. "It sounds good enough, and with one Dark and one Psychic type it makes sense." Cresselia beamed. "Sounds good to me! I'll tell the Professor, you go save us a side."

Darkrai chuckled and made his way over to the left side of the field. He made eye contact with Kyurem up in the seats, who flashed him a cocky grin and a thumbs up. Darkrai rolled his eyes and turned to face his opponents as Cresselia made her way to his side. He was looking at a medium sized girl in a blue jeans-jacket and crème undershirt, named Lucario. Her partner was a tall, stocky boy in a light brown jacket that had massive spikes jutting out the back, and his big head seemed almost fused to his shoulders, with almost no neck showing. His name was Tyranitar, if memory served.

Yveltal sat in his swivel chair behind his desk, then faced the rest of the Hall. "This battle will continue until one team is unable to continue." he said.

"Ready? Fight!"

/-\\-/-\

Before anybody could react, Lucario raised her hand at the ceiling and charged an orb of orange energy. "Aura Sphere!" she yelled, and the orb sailed towards the roof. Darkrai was confused by the odd tactic, but he pressed forward. "Dark Pulse!" he said, firing a shockwave towards Tyranitar. The rock-type had no time to dodge, and even though the attack had virtually no effect, the massive brute flinched as a result.

Meanwhile, Lucario was still firing orb into the sky. _What is she doing?_ "Cresselia, get Lucario!" yelled Darkrai. "I'll get Tyranitar!" Cresselia nodded and fired a quick crescent of energy at Lucario. "Psycho Cut!" she yelled. Lucario was too busy shooting orbs, and just as the last one left her hand, Cresselia's attack hit her square in the chest.

"Stone Edge!"

 _WHACK!_

Jagged stones the size of baseballs jabbed at Darkrai suddenly, catching him off guard. He held both his hands to his chest and charged and orb of spiraling orange energy. "Focus Blast!" he yelled, shooting the orb at Tyranitar. The brute moved to the side, attempting to dodge, but the outside of the orb snagged his foot and it exploded, sending him into the seats, crushing a few students under his bulk. _That's one,_ he thought _. One more to go._

Darkrai turned to face Cresselia, who was trading flurries of attacks with Lucario. Darkrai held out a hand, and it glowed white. "Ice Beam!" he said, and the stark white stream of energy caught Lucario in the shoulder, setting her off balance. This minor setoff allowed her to be hit by a wave of pink Psychic energy, sending her flying backwards.

Growling, Lucario said "Extremespeed!" She suddenly appeared at Darkrai's side and she grabbed his leather jacket roughly. "Force Palm!" she said, right before landing a massive punch on Darkrai's face. He fell to the ground roughly, and he heard Cresselia cry out. He was able to prop himself up long enough to see Lucario bending her knees. As she jumped inhumanly high, Darkrai noticed that all of the Aura Spheres she'd shot into the sky had condensed into a massive, floating ball of blue energy. As Lucario grabbed the Sphere, she yelled "Aura Storm!"

A massive beam of blue energy came hurtling directly towards Darkrai. He braced himself, knowing there was no time to dodge.

Suddenly, Cresselia was standing over him, deflecting the beam of energy back at its owner with her hands, both of which were glowing pink. _I guess that 130 special defense has a use,_ he thought. As Cresselia fended off the constant attack, Darkrai couldn't help but admire how beautiful Cresselia looked as she stood over him.

Cresselia suddenly let her hands fall to her sides as Lucario dropped to the ground, her energy spent from having the majority of her attack thrown back in her face. The Psychic lunged forward suddenly, and she cried "Psychic!" A massive wave of pink energy barreled towards Lucario, and it sent her flying against the wall, making her pass out cold. Cresselia landed, then dropped to her knees, clothes smoking. The class applauded as both Yveltal and Darkrai rose to their feet.

"Team Half-Moon wins!" said Yveltal to the class. "Well done. Both teams may return to their desks or go to the recovery room." Some students laughed at the Professor's joke as Darkrai made his way to Cresselia's side. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Thanks, Cresselia." he said. Cresselia grinned weakly, and Darkrai helped her to her feet. "I couldn't just leave you there to get beat up, could I?" she asked. Darkrai shook his head. "You're not getting me." he said. Reaching down, he grabbed Cresselia's hand in his and squeezed it lightly. "Thank you." he said, looking her in the eye. Cresselia looked surprised for a second, but a warm smile quickly spread across her lips. "Any time, Darkrai." she said, squeezing his hand before letting go to return to her seat.

As soon as Darkrai sat down, Kyurem immediately opened his mouth to comment. "There you go!" he said excitedly. "You just-."

"Stop, Kyurem." said Giratina, putting his arm across Kyurem's chest. Then he looked Darkrai in the eye, his wine-red irises boring holes in his skull. "I'm proud of you, Darkrai." he said. "That was the right thing to do." Darkrai was instantly suspicious at hearing his friend's tone. It almost sounded like Giratina had done the same thing himself… or might not have.

"What happened with you and Rayquaza?" whispered Darkrai, trying to avoid catching Kyurem's attention. Giratina shook his head and readjusted his mask as it hung from his neck. Their signal for _Not now. Later._

Darkrai turned to face Yveltal as he began his lecture. For the first time in his life, however, Darkrai couldn't concentrate on the lesson. He didn't know why. The only thing could concentrate on how warm both his hand and heart felt.

/-\\-/-\

 _DONG! DONG! DONG!_

As the rest of the people from the Battle Hall left for their next class, Kyurem went down to Yveltal's desk. When he got there, Yveltal was writing notes in a notebook of some sort. "You asked for me, sir?" asked Kyurem politely. Even he, with all of his childishness, knew when respect was due. He just chose to ignore it sometimes. Life tended to be funnier then.

Yveltal put his pen down and looked up at Kyurem. "Yes." he said. "It has come to my attention through student rumors that you are the reason for Ms. Illusio and Mr. Genetic's newfound closeness."

Kyurem grinned slightly. "Yeah, that was something I had to do. It was so obvious, and I just helped it along." Then the Ice-type tilted his head. "Why would you call me over for that?" Yveltal smiled slyly, and Kyurem couldn't help thinking _Uh-oh._

"I was wondering if you would consider doing the same for two other students in this class." he said. Kyurem folded his arms across his chest and tried to look indifferent. "I might." he said. "Why does this interest you?"

Yveltal sighed, and he rubbed his temples. "I've already divulged that information to one too many people." he said. "Let's just say that I'm trying to direct one of your friends in the right direction." Kyurem folded his arms. "Sounds like you have a good reason." he said. "So who am I going to be… targeting, per se?"

Yveltal reached under the desk and pulled out something. It was a grey skateboarding helmet. "I have a feeling you already know the two." he said. Kyurem grinned widely, and he grabbed the helmet off the table. "I think I can do that for you." said the Ice-type. Kyurem made his way out of the Hall leaving Yveltal alone at his desk. The professor leaned back in his chair and sighed tiredly. _This has to work,_ he thought. _If it doesn't, he's in for the same troubles I've gone through._

Yveltal stood and made his way to a window. From it, he could see the stone statue of Xerneas' alternate form. Yveltal simply sighed to himself, and he scaled the steps to exit the Hall, and the doors closed with a heavy and fateful _THUMP!_

Silence draped over the Battle Hall for a second.

For two.

Then Rayquaza stepped out from behind the curtains of the window Yveltal had been looking through. Without another word or thought, the amber-eyed battler walked out of the Hall, and the doors closed with the same fatefulness that had accompanied Yveltal's departure.

And silence draped over the Battle Hall.

 **E/N- Dun, dun, dun! Kyurem and Yveltal teamup! (and to think that Rayquaza was listening the entire time…)**

 **Is anybody else proud of Darkrai? I know I technically** _ **made**_ **him do that, but still…**

 **Btw, I kind of stole Lucario's Aura Storm from Super Smash Brothers Brawl. I know it's not** _ **technically**_ **a move, but I wanted a chance to use that in a story so bad!**

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review… AT YOUR OWN RISK :) :) :)**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	5. What Ails Ye?

**A/N- Hello again from EyeofAmethyst07!**

 **I have no excuse for my lateness. You'd think I'd be able to crank out 3K+ words in less than a whole month, right? Sigh… I don't like school right now.**

 **This is where things are gonna start picking up. The tournament is going to continue at a steady pace, and today we'll see Reshiram and Kyurem battle.**

 **I've also decided that for the most part, the chapters will start with Giratina and Rayquaza's training session. Just because I'm special. :)**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life: Chapter 5

 _FOOOM!_

Giratina rolled out of the way as a stream of scarlet flames scorched the ground where he was standing a moment ago.

"GRROOOAAAR!" Rayquaza, in her Mega form, flew over his head and circled around the Hall, looking to dive back in for another attack. Giratina raised his hand and it glowed a bright white. "Ice Beam!" he said, and a stream of white energy streaked towards Rayquaza. It hit her square in the chest, right between her small arms, and she hissed in fury. Instead of retaliating, she growled at him angrily and shifted into her human form. Her angry expression nearly matched the one that she had been wearing in her other form.

"Cheap move, Giratina." she said tightly. "You know what the terms of our spar was." Giratina rolled his eyes. "What, no using super-effective moves?" he said. "You're normally one to avoid such attacks, Ray." Rayquaza snarled, her face staring to look more like her Mega form than a human's. "I told you not to call me that." she said, amber eyes glowering. "When did you become so childish, Giratina?" The Ghost-type was taken aback.

"I wasn't aware that simply shortening one's name was considered childish." he said. "Why are _you_ acting so defensive, Rayquaza?" The amber-eyed battler scowled. "I'm not defensive, Giratina." she said with and audible edge in her voice. "I simply do not appreciate the underhandedness of going against our agreement."

Giratina scoffed. "We've both done this several times in the past." he said. "And we've just continued to battle regardless. Why make an issue of it now?" Rayquaza grunted and straightened her trench coat. "I'll see myself out Giratina." she said, stalking her way up the stairs. The Ghost-type scoffed again, and he watched his partner scale the steps quickly. When she was halfway, he sank into the ground, moving through the realm only he could access: the Distortion.

He reappeared directly in front of her, and Rayquaza lightly bounced off his chest as she found her progress suddenly impeded. Giratina swore he saw her cheeks go red. "Out of the way, Giratina." she said. "I have other places to be."

"Curious, that." said Giratina in response, folding his arms across his chest. "Because I believe we still have half an hour left in this session." Rayquaza growled at him, her eyes reflecting a kind of fire he'd never seen before. It almost seemed like she was trying to resist something. "I'm leaving now, Giratina." she said. "If you respect me at all, you'll let me go without asking questions."

"If you respect _me_ at all," Giratina countered, not moving. "Then you'll answer the one question I do have." Rayquaza hesitated, like she hadn't expected her escape to be this easy. "Fine," she snapped. "What is it?"

Giratina took a deep breath, bracing himself for the quite likely chance that he was about to get blasted out of the way. "What is going on, Rayquaza?" he asked her honestly. "You're not acting like yourself. This worries me slightly." Rayquaza blinked as Giratina reviewed his word choice. Rolling his eyes, he sighed. "That was not to be taken personally, Ray." he said. "I thought you were not dictated by such petty emotions. What changed?" Rayquaza moved down a step, her amber eyes gleaming oddly. She seemed to be losing the strong front she always put up, and it was replaced by what appeared to be… conflict. She seemed extremely conflicted about something, although Giratina couldn't tell what it was.

 _If something's got Rayquaza vexed,_ he thought. _Then I have a feeling I don't want to know what it is._

"I…" Rayquaza trailed off uneasily, an extremely out-of-character action for the battler. She met his crimson eyes briefly, before turning her gaze away just as quickly. Giratina furrowed his brow, now suspicious. _What is wrong with her?_ he wondered. _I've seen that look before. I've seen it on…_

 _On Darkrai._

Rayquaza seemed to regain some of her composure as she straightened slightly. Her eyes gained a determined glint, but the conflicted emotions were still visible beneath them. "This is nothing to concern yourself with, Giratina." she said in what appeared to be an attempt at deadpan. Her troubled eyes ruined the front. "I will be prepared for our next tournament battle, and I expect you to not try-."

Rayquaza shook her head slightly, as if she'd misspoken. Yet another out-of-character actions from his seemingly confused partner. "Forgive me." she said. "I am not feeling right. I need to leave." Giratina was tempted to continue his barrage of questions, but something stirred him to let her pass. Turning to the side, he raised his eyebrow as she continued her upward journey. "What ails you?" he asked, trying to see if he could diagnose the issue.

Rayquaza slowed her pace but didn't turn back. "It worsens over time." she said. "Brings labored breath, muddled thoughts, slower reaction time." Rayquaza laid a hand on the handles to the doors, but she didn't open them. Giratina took this as an invitation.

"When does this occur?" he asked. "Or is this constant?" Rayquaza lowered her head slightly, her hand still on the brass handles. "Only during our spars." she said. "This tampers my abilities somewhat." Giratina chuckled slightly. "It certainly doesn't show through." he said. "You seem as powerful as ever." For an inexplicable reason, something was pulling at Giratina's mouth, as if he wanted to add to his last comment. _What else would I even say? What else_ could _I even say?_

Rayquaza sighed again, but her back remained turned. "Is that all, Giratina?" she asked, an odd tone coming onto her usually unforgiving voice. Giratina narrowed his wine-colored irises. "Are you expecting more, Rayquaza?" he asked, now using her full name. "What more is there to say? You are powerful; is that not the only thing that matters?" Rayquaza turned to face Giratina, and he took an unconscious step back. Her amber eyes, usually steel-like in nature, were now… Giratina struggled to find the correct adjective. _Broken? Softened?_

"You truly believe that?"

 _Cracked._

The perfect word manifested in Giratina's mind. Rayquaza's eyes looked exactly liked cracked amber; he could almost see the faults in them. It looked as if she had been put under so much pressure, and she had spent so much time resisting it, that she finally cracked under the weight. Of whatever she was resisting.

"Yes." Giratina said after a small eternity, his eyes locked with Rayquaza's seemingly shattered ones. "I was quite certain you did as well." Rayquaza turned her head away slightly. "That philosophy is being challenged." she said in a low, almost whisper-like tone. "I've had enough of this drama, Ray." said Giratina, arms crossed. "Challenged by what?" Rayquaza chuckled slightly, and her eyes met his again for a brief moment. There was a strange light to them. "That is the question, isn't it?" she said, as if she was asking him a riddle. "Good night, Giratina" she said, turning away to open the doors. _Now she speaks in pleasantries?_ he wondered. _What is wrong with this girl? Where is the indifferent, deadly serious battler I once knew?_

 _Where is Rayquaza?_

"When did this start?" he asked, only now beginning to wonder as to why he was being so inquisitive. Rayquaza sighed, then swung the doors open noiselessly. She took a step outside, then turned to glance at Giratina. The setting sun illuminated her slim form, and her usually amber eyes looked heavier and darker in contrast.

"One month ago."

/-\\-/-\

"Do I have to tell you this every time? Find your seats."

The students scurried about, trying to find their seats before Yveltal exacted his usual punishment: a Shadow Ball to the face. Kyurem grinned to himself as he watched his peers run about. _This is hilarious,_ he thought. _Watching big, tough Mewtwo running like a Torchick with his head cut off._

Just as said Psychic type dove behind his desk (with Zoroark rolling her eyes beside him), Kyurem heard someone sit in the seat to his right.

"Oh boy." said Giratina. "What are you planning now?" Kyurem tried to wipe the grin off his face, which only caused it to grow wider. "I'm just watching something." he said innocently, as Darkrai took his seat and Giratina narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Watching what?" he asked, half-joking, half-serious. "One of your master plans unfold?" Kyurem couldn't resist the opportunity to glace at Rayquaza at the far side of the Hall, remembering the deal he'd made with the Professor a few days back. The amber eyed girl appeared to be watching them intently, until Giratina turned to follow his gaze. Then she turned away, and Kyurem could imagine that her cheeks may have been flushed. "You could call it that." said Kyurem, answering Giratina's earlier question.

 _BOOM!_

An orb of shadow exploded over the heads of the students, and all chatter ceased. Yveltal linked his hands behind his back and turned to face the class. "Now, then." he said. "The tournament is going full swing, and today's battle will be the last of the Quarterfinal round."

Yveltal turned his cyan gaze on Kyurem and he felt conflicting surges of excitement and dread. _Here it comes,_ he thought. _This is going to be epic._

"Could teams Fusion and Specter please make their way to the battlefield? They will be participating in today's matchup."

Kyurem shot to his feet and sprinted over to the right side of the battlefield. A short while later, Reshiram appeared by his side, her countenance showing annoyance. "I don't want any tricks this time, Kyurem." she said apprehensively. Kyurem pretended to be offended, pressing a hand to his chest. "Reshiram, when have I _ever_ given you reason to be suspicious of me?" he sked with false honesty.

Reshiram rolled her electric blue eyes. "You pushed me into a Dragon Pulse so you could knock out the other team alone." Kyurem blinked in exaggerated confusion. "It worked didn't it?" Reshiram growled. "If by 'worked' you mean 'got me trapped in the Recovery room with Zekrom for a week', then, yes. It worked."

Kyurem smirked. "I thought you would enjoy some quality time with Zekrom." he said. "I can just imagine you two, alone, in the Recovery room, with-." Kyurem stopped when he saw the Flamethrower his partner had charged in her hand. Kyurem chuckled nervously. "Or maybe I'm just fantasizing."

Reshiram roughly closed her fist, quenching the attack. But the fire in her eyes told Kyurem he wasn't exactly safe from the following battle turning into a three-on-one massacre. "I will not have anything to do with that idiotic brute." she said tightly. Kyurem chuckled to himself. _I'll be the judge of that,_ he thought. _Just give me a week or so._

Reshiram turned away to glance at their opponents; Kyurem did the same. Two figures; one stocky, one slim; one pink, the other black; one Psychic, the other Dark; stood before them. They were none other than Zoroark and Mewtwo, the students who'd participated in the first battle for the class. They'd started as rivals almost as intense as Reshiram and Zekrom, but thanks to Kyurem's unnamed intervention (like he was going to spoil the mystery anytime this century), they'd become much closer. Kyurem based all of his so-called 'matchmaking' on a simple ideal (or truth, if he was talking to Reshiram. She tended to get hyped up about those kind of debates): that it was more relaxing to have two people like each other instead of two people who tried to blow the other's head off when they got closer than ten feet from each other.

Needless to say, his attempts to do the same with Reshiram and Zekrom hadn't exactly been successful. The incident with the highlighter was proof of that.

Yveltal knocked on his wooden desk, asking for silence. "This battle will commence until one team is unable to continue." he said. Kyurem and Reshiram shifted into their respective stances, but their opponents didn't move. They simply remained in an upright, relaxed position.

A twinge of uneasiness went through Kyurem. _Something's not right,_ he thought. But he had no time to do anything about it, so all he could do was brace himself. And hope that he could avoid whatever attack Zoroark and Mewtwo launched.

A thought crossed Kyurem's mind, and he couldn't stop the sadistic grin that spread itself across his face.

"Ready?"

 _Maybe I can push Reshiram in the way again._

"Fight!"

/-\\-/-\

Reshiram never spared a millisecond. Immediately, her hand glowed an intense scarlet. "Flamethrower!" she yelled, sending forth a wave of fire that would consume both opponents. Zoroark, however, simply smirked as the flames washed over her and her partner. When the flames died, the two battlers were nowhere to be seen. Kyurem frantically scanned the room, readying an Ice Beam to retaliate when the tricksters showed themselves. _Zoroark's Illusions,_ he realized. _If we don't damage her, we'll never be able to land a hit._

Suddenly, a sleek body appeared in front of Kyurem. Zoroark's blue eyes gleamed with combinations of playfulness and evil. "Hi there." she said. Before he could react, she ducked down and swept her legs under Kyurem's, causing him to trip. Before he hit the ground, Zoroark punched him in the chest, her fist shrouded in a dark aura. "Foul Play!" Kyurem went flying backwards, slamming into Reshiram's back. Apparently, Mewtwo had appeared in front of her just as Zoroark had for Kyurem. By attacking at the same time, the Specter teammates sent the two flying into each other. As they got to their feet, Kyurem realized something.

They had disappeared again.

Reshiram roared, the red highlights in her hair and on her clothes glowing intensely. Twin balls of flame, glowing an intense blue, appeared in her hands. Kyurem's eyes widened, and he internally groaned. _I hate this move._

"Blue Flare!"

Reshiram sent the fireballs to the ground, creating a three-foot wave of blue flames that spread through the arena. Kyurem covered his face as the attack washed over him, sucking the breath right out of his lungs. Despite his Dragon typing, the Fire type move did an effective job of scorching Kyurem's body and dealing him a good amount of damage. As he fell to his knees, he heard someone else cry out.

The body of a slim Zoroark appeared in midair, thrown off the ground by the 130 power move. Mewtwo appeared at the same time, evidently unhurt, as his partner's illusion faded. The Psychic was not obviously happy, and Kyurem had just risen to his feet when he heard:

"Psystrike!"

Kyurem saw pink for a second; then he was launched across the Hall, Mewtwo's powerful move hitting him square in the chest. Oddly enough, he landed two feet away from Zoroark, who was kneeling, her clothes smoking. As Kyurem re-oriented himself and prepared to attack, he noticed that one of the Dark-type's hands was cloaked in a dull aura.

 _She's going to use Sucker Punch,_ he realized. _I can't be the one who attacks her._ The Ice-type spared a glance at Reshiram, who was trading special attacks with Mewtwo across the Hall. Her arms glowed the same shade as her eyes, the intense blue glow both menacing and beautiful at the same time. _There's an avid description of Reshiram for you._

"Reshiram!" Kyurem cried out in a voice that had as much pity and pain as he could muster. As his partner turned towards him, having just nailed Mewtwo in one of his legs, Kyurem glanced up at the stands, where there were mixed reactions to his theatrics. Giratina was watching intently, his eyebrow raised and wine-colored eyes narrowed, as if trying to predict the battle's course. Rayquaza held a similar look upon her face, amber eyes disturbingly similar to the intensity of Giratina's.

Darkrai, on the other hand, was pounding a fist on his desk and laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of his acting.

Kyurem shook his head and refocused; if he didn't play this next segment out right, he and Reshiram would be knocked out of the tournament. Of course, if everything went according to his master plan, then Reshiram would probably not be very happy with him regardless.

 _It's not like I'll be pushing her in the way of anything._

"I've got her frozen!" Kyurem said finally, gesturing weakly at Zoroark, who didn't move except for the small smirk that wove itself on her face. Reshiram jogged over and the flames surrounding her hands turned red. An orb of fire appeared in between her hands.

"Fusion Fl-!"

"Sucker Punch!"

Kyurem caught the look Reshiram gave him a split second before the Dark-type's attack hit. She gave him a look that said; _You're so dead when I wake up._

After that, though, she went flying across the battlefield, and the Fire-type Legend-Class fainted against a stone pillar. Kyurem got to his feet and his hand began to glow white. Meanwhile, Zoroark turned towards him as Mewtwo walked to her side. "Did you just sacrifice your own partner?" asked the Dark-type, no doubt someone familiar with trickery.

Kyurem raised his hands, both glowing an intense white. "Yep. Ice Beam!"

Twin streaks of ice cut towards the Specter teammates. However, Mewtwo jumped in front of the attacks, absorbing them both, leaving Zoroark untouched. The Illusion female rolled her eyes as her partner slumped to the ground. "Drama queen." she said, stepping over his limp form. "I'll repay you later."

Then her hands glowed an ominous black, and she turned to face Kyurem. "Continuous Foul Play." she said. Kyurem hesitated slightly. _Continuous?_

 _Whack!_

Kyurem spun around as the girl's energy-coated fist connected with the side of his face. Before he had time to dodge, another punch was delivered to his stomach. As Zoroark continued her assault, it took all of Kyurem's self-control not to avoid the attacks. He felt his energy slowly depleting, but he needed it to be as close to empty as it could be if his plan was to work. _A little longer,_ he thought. _One… more…_

 _Thump!_ A punch to his chest, taking his breath away. _Now!_

Kyurem used almost all of his remaining energy to jump to the far side of the battlefield, his clothes smoking from the royal beating he was being given. Zoroark's fists returned to their normal pale hue as she turned to face him. "You could just give up." she said, a smirk on her sleek features. "Say the three words; 'I give up'."

Kyurem laughed as much as he could without his gut bursting. "I'll settle for just one." he said, pointing a finger gun at her. The Dark-type rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "And what's that?"

Kyurem grinned. "Endeavor."

A small grey ball of energy shot from Kyurem's finger gun and into Zoroark's chest. The Dark-type fell to her knees and gasped, her energy suddenly being sucked away by the equalizing attack. Kyurem stumbled over to her, now just as weak as she. He looked down at his drained opponent, and smirked. "I give up." he said, and he caught how she rolled her blue eyes in response. Kyurem then extended a single finger and pushed her to the ground. Zoroark hit the ground with a dull _Thump,_ and she was knocked out. Yveltal applauded as the crowd both laughed and cheered. "Team Fusion wins." he said simply. Then he turned his cyan eyes on Kyurem. "… However slightly."

Kyurem nodded, turned to grin at the crowd, then promptly passed out, falling on his face as he did so. It _had_ been a long day.

/-\\-/-\

 **E/N- *Snicker* I love writing with Kyurem. He would be such a pain to live with, but seeing the world through his eyes (Where comedy-value is currency) can be oddly refreshing.**

 **Hope the chapter made up for the wait! (As always…)**

 **Please review! I need to know that some of you are still reading this story, and any feedback, suggestions, or (of course) comments are always appreciated!**

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review… Please? ;)**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	6. The Griseous Armband

**A/N- Hello from the land of the writer's-block-sucks-so-I-could-barely-write-anything-for-a-month!**

 **I'm trying to whip myself into shape, and speed up production, but as of now it seems that I've fallen into a month-long loop. Of doom.**

 **EyeofAmethyst07 needs to do better, huh?**

 **I promise the chapter rate will gradually get faster. We're nearing the middle end of the story, as the class tourney gets closer to its final. I have a more solidly planned out portion coming up, so there should be less delay.**

 **Please enjoy the chapter, then subsequently review. I want to make sure that at least** _ **someone**_ **is reading this.**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life: Chapter 6

Rayquaza put her hand down and rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen, Giratina," she said simply, looking at her partner who stood at the opposite side of the Battle Hall. Said Ghost-type had both his arms spread wide, hands upturned, making a T. Two orbs of shadow lay charged in his palms.

"Don't be like that, Ray," he said. "You know just as much as I do that you can hit these Shadow Balls from that distance with an Ice Beam." Rayquaza crossed her arms in a manner that had somewhat become her trademark. She knew very well that her accuracy, while not pinpoint, was still well above average. She also knew that Giratina was aware of that as well; their one-on-one spar at the start of the Double Battle unit was proof enough of that. So the only thing she _didn't_ know was;

"Why are you having me do this?" she asked Giratina. "I can definitely hit the orbs from here. What is there left to prove?" A raised eyebrow and amused wine-colored irises was the start of Giratina's response. Rayquaza resisted the extremely strong impulse to growl. _I hate it when he does that._

"You're not trying to just hit the orbs," said Giratina matter-of-factly. "You're trying to hit them at just the right angle so the explosion is directed _away_ from me, outwards."

Rayquaza narrowed her eyes in slight curiosity. "And what happens if I hit it wrong?" she asked evenly, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice.

Giratina smirked. "Then you end up painting my face a new color," he said simply.

Rayquaza raised her hand, and it began to glow white as she charged the requested attack. "A win-win, then," she said, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. Giratina laughed heartily, as if she hadn't just threatened to shoot him in the face. Rayquaza felt a lurch in her chest as a result, and she tried not to let it show through. _Something is seriously wrong with me._

"Ouch, Ray," said Giratina, arms still extended. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I trust you, though." Rayquaza felt the lurch in her chest again, and her breathing suddenly cut off. As a result, the Ice Beam she'd been charging dissipated. Giratina's brow furrowed, and Rayquaza internally cursed. _He saw it._

"Your ailment acting up again?" he asked. Although logic told Rayquaza that Giratina's question was completely deadpan, she still found some part of her imagining that there had been genuine concern. Instead of giving another physical reaction, Rayquaza flicked the hair from in front of her face and steeled both her resolve and her voice.

"No," she said succinctly. "I'm ready to take the shot." Giratina's brow never completely lost its crease, but he nodded that he was ready. Rayquaza charged a quick Ice Beam and raised her hand to take aim at the inside of the orb in his left palm. However, her arm wouldn't stop shaking ever so slightly. Growling, she tried to stiffen it, but the appendage seemed unwilling to aim in a straight line. She tried to take a relaxing breath, but like the many she had taken before it, it was incredibly shallow and labored.

Rayquaza's face contorted into an ugly snarl. _I am Rayquaza Sky,_ she thought. Taking yet another labored breath, the Flying-type morphed her expression to one of determination.

 _I control myself. I am not controlled by strange emotions._

Rayquaza upped the power of her attack by tenfold, causing her hand to glow much brighter. She noticed Giratina's eyes narrow, and she took in one more labored breath.

 _I do not admit to things that will never be._

With a yell, Rayquaza launched her attack, an odd wave of self-anger giving her a moment of clarity. The stark white Ice Beam streaked towards the orb in Giratina's left hand. The frigid attack struck the inside curve of the orb, sending the violet explosion away from her partner's face.

As Giratina used his free hand to wave aside the smoke, he clenched his other fist, quenching the second Shadow Ball. He advanced slowly, eyes still narrowed. "Good shot," he said succinctly. "Why did you up the power on your attack?"

Rayquaza tried for a confident smirk. "It was an attempt to provoke fear, or perhaps worry," she replied lightly. The suspicious narrow in Giratina's eyes disappeared, but a curious eyebrow was raised in compensation.

"I doubt that highly, Rayquaza," said Giratina evenly. "I saw the expressions that crossed your face. That was an extremely unstable shot, and you were fortunate not to have missed your mark."

Rayquaza scowled. "Nonsense," she snapped. "Nothing is wrong."

Giratina crossed his arms. "I never said anything was wrong. I only inquired as to why you increased the power on your shot." The Flying-type fumbled for an answer, but for the first time in her life, she had nothing she could say.

Giratina walked up so they were face-to-face. His wine-colored irises analyzed her facial expressions sharply, but Rayquaza kept her face as deadpan as possible. She noticed how Giratina's-

 _Don't start that,_ she growled to herself. _Not now. Not ever._

"Is this your ailment acting up again?"

Rayquaza blinked, surprised by her partner's inquiry. _Since when did he care about that?_ she wondered.

"Yes," she said, before she could stop herself. She mentally kicked herself. _Nice going,_ she thought. _Now comes the barrage of questions. I've already told him too much._

Giratina nodded, and backed up slightly. "I thought so," he said. There was a long, awkward pause, as neither battler said anything, simply staring at each other. Rayquaza felt her chest constrict again, and she resisted the urge to growl. Something was unsettling Rayquaza about the way Giratina eyed her; it wasn't his usual deadpan glare. Instead, he seemed to be searching for something, but Rayquaza could only guess as to what it was.

"Here."

Rayquaza blinked as her partner broke the seemingly endless silence that dominated the space between them. In his pale hand was a gleaming golden half-ring, much like the ones that lined his wrists and ankles. As she scanned her partner's apparel, she noticed that he must have taken the ring off his right wrist.

Rayquaza took the bracelet in her hand, and an odd energy seemed to radiate from it. "What is this?" she asked, not sure why he would even bother wearing it in the first place, much less give it to her.

Giratina chuckled lightly, and his hand drifted down to the mask that hung around his neck. "It's made from the same metal that my mask is," he said. "It helps focus one's mind. I figured that until you figured out what the cause of your ailment was, this would help somewhat." Rayquaza scoffed. Although she was surprised that Giratina wanted to help her, she couldn't help but dismiss the idea as ridiculous.

"A metal that focuses one's mind?" Rayquaza asked skeptically. "I thought you were more logical than that, Giratina. What does it actually do?"

The Ghost-type in front of her smiled slightly. Rayquaza forced herself to give no reaction. "I doubted it at first, too," he said. "But, logic or not, it actually works." Rayquaza scoffed again and handed the ring back to Giratina.

Giratina withdrew his hand and the metal, but he didn't re-attach the band. "Look, Rayquaza, I know you think you don't need any help from anyone ever. I at one point believed that as well." Giratina reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. Against her will, Rayquaza felt a warmth spread from the point of contact.

"But battling isn't the only thing in this world, as much as I would like it to be true," Giratina continued. "You can most certainly battle by yourself, but there are some things that simply cannot function with one person."

Rayquaza blinked. _That is not the mentality of the Giratina_ I _know,_ she thought. "So why offer me this help?" she asked with as little emotion as possible. "Anyone else could have."

Giratina smirked slightly as he turned the band over in his hands. "Something tells me you wouldn't have accepted it from anyone else," he said slyly. Rayquaza opened her mouth to snap back, but Giratina raised his hand for patience. He turned his wine-colored irises on her, almost accusingly.

"Don't," he said. "To deny it of yourself is one thing, but to be completely unaware is quite another." Rayquaza said nothing, glaring lifelessly back at her partner.

Giratina extended his hand once again, offering her the Griseous armband. "Take it, Rayquaza," he said. "You need to be prepared for our Semi-final match tomorrow, and this is the best way I know to do that." Rayquaza turned her head away once again. _I cannot accept this,_ she thought. _I cannot give in to this._

Giratina sighed. "It also boosts the power of all Ghost and Dragon type moves by 20%," he said tiredly, as if it was something he wanted to refrain from saying.

Rayquaza turned her head back around, eyeing the armband. _It helps with battle,_ she reasoned with herself. _I suppose that makes it even._ With a small growl, Rayquaza swiped the Griseous armband from Giratina. The Ghost-type retracted his hand with a small, knowing smile.

Rayquaza glared at him as she struggled to snap it on her wrist. However coincidental, it appeared as though their wrists were about the same size. "I'm accepting this for the battle properties," she said, twisting the armband around to try another angle. "Not for your assistance." Giratina chuckled and walked forward. Rayquaza hissed at him, but before she could yank her arm away, Giratina grabbed her wrist and fastened the armband with a single, fluid motion.

As soon as the mechanism clicked, Rayquaza felt a surge of energy flow through her. Every limb felt supercharged, and as Giratina had predicted, her mind instantly cleared. All of the odd, murky thoughts that had clouded her mind were gone, now replaced by an eerie calm. _As it should be,_ she thought. _No confusion. No discord. No influence._

 _ **Hang on to that thought.**_

Rayquaza flinched as she felt a heavy presence bear down on the empty solace that had come with the Griseous armband. She was afraid she already knew the answer but she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Giratina," she said aloud. "Does this armband allow telepathic communication between holders of the same material?"

 _ **You could say that.**_

Rayquaza sighed and reached towards the band, now unsure if the benefits outweighed the side-effects. Giratina reached out and grabbed her forearm, stopping her short. Rayquaza scowled at him, and yanked her arm away. Now that she had the Griseous, her mind was clear from the odd and action-muddling thoughts she'd been having lately.

"You can't take it off," said Giratina as she tried again. "I am the only one who can either secure it or loosen it." Rayquaza glared at him ruthlessly, but he did not flinch under her gaze.

"You tricked me, you sly son of a Growlithe," she growled, still trying to slide the band off.

Giratina extended his hand, and a perfectly round portal of purple opened on the ground directly in front of him. "I trust you, Rayquaza," he said in a strong voice. "I need that on you until I know you can reciprocate." Rayquaza crossed her arms.

"So, what, you're going to keep me on a mental leash?" she asked. "I doubt trust will form in this one-sided situation." Giratina frowned, as if just now realizing the point she made.

"I don't think it's that simple, Ray," he said simply after a small second of silence. "This is not a one-way street. It is a method of communication. You can enter my thoughts just as I can enter yours." Rayquaza closed her eyes in concentration, and her partner laughed.

"You can't actually see my thoughts," he said lightly. "Only anything I transmit to you." Rayquaza narrowed her eyes at Giratina.

 _You're a deceptive Purrloin, you know that?_

 _ **Of course. I've been talking with Kyurem for over a month now.**_ **Some** _ **thing was bound to rub off.**_

Rayquaza raised an eyebrow as she kept her arms crossed. "Trying to lighten the gravity of this with a pun?" she asked dully. "How pathetically obvious."

Giratina stepped forward into the portal he'd created and began to sink through it. The last thing he said before sinking completely was;

"Keep your head clear."

And just like that, Rayquaza was left alone in the Battle Hall.

Now that Giratina had left her head, the empty solace that came with the Griseous armband returned. However, it was not as reassuring as it had been before. Rayquaza sighed heavily, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She knew that, thanks to what Giratina had just done, Yveltal and Kyurem were one step closer to their goal.

But she refused to yield. _I don't care if Yveltal lived his life in regret because of the predicament I now find myself in,_ she thought. _I will not give in._ Rayquaza paused as she realized how ridiculous that sounded. Then she sighed again. She might not have known what was going to happen the next day, or week, or month, but there was something she _was_ certain of;

 _Tomorrow is going to be a long day._

Then, Rayquaza heard someone chuckle.

 _ **You'd be surprised how often that happens nowadays.**_

/-\\-/-\

"WHOA!"

Giratina blinked as a body flew over his head. The pinkish form landed in the desks behind him with a loud _CRASH,_ and Zoroark, who was sitting right beside the upturned desks, put her head in her hands.

Yveltal, standing in the middle of the battlefield of the Hall, linked his hands behind his back. "As Mr. Genetic has just demonstrated with his impressive acrobatics act," began the cyan-eyed professor. "Any student who is not seated in the next three seconds will be sent to their seats with Dark-type propulsion." Giratina smirked to himself, and he sent a thought to Rayquaza across the Hall.

 _ **It's about time someone got blasted by Yveltal.**_

 _Agreed,_ she thought to him. No other thoughts came in response, and Giratina chuckled in response to the silence.

 _ **Relax, Ray,**_ he thought. _**I need you to focus.**_

 _Then quit pestering me with pointless thoughts._

 _ **I don't really have anyone else to talk to.**_

 _Your friends don't like to talk?_

 _ **Darkrai is on the other side of the Hall, staring at Cresselia soulfully, and I**_ **don't** _ **want to talk to Kyurem.**_

A chuckle was his only response. Giratina shrugged to himself. _Baby steps,_ he thought. He returned his attention to Yveltal just in time for him to hear;

"… that note, will teams Half-Moon and Delta please make their way to the battlefield for their Semi-final match?" Giratina grinned widely. _I completely forgot that our next match was against Darkrai and Cresselia._ As Giratina rose and made his way to the center of the Hall, he heard Rayquaza shoot him a thought.

 _They will not be easy to beat,_ she thought to him. _We will need to stay coordinated if we are to succeed._

 _ **Then it's a good thing you've got that armband, isn't it?**_ Giratina and Rayquaza reached their respective starting positions, and Giratina noticed Rayquaza rubbing the Griseous band, either consciously or not.

"That's up for debate," she said aloud without looking at him. "I'm still not entirely certain that having you in my head is a good thing." Giratina chuckled and straightened his trench coat. He glanced at Darkrai and Cresselia, who had already made it to the opposite side of the battlefield and were whispering into each other's ears.

It occurred to Giratina that formulating a strategy would be very helpful in the upcoming battle. He began mulling over the possible combinations and probabilities in-

 _I attack Cresselia in my Mega form with several quick Dragon Claws, you take Darkrai in your human state with repeated Aura Spheres._

Giratina blinked and turned to glance at his partner who, albeit turned away, wove a small smirk onto her face. _**That was my reasoning,**_ he thought to her. _**But take caution: Darkrai and Cresselia both know status inflicting moves, specifically sleep induction. If one of us is hit, it will affect the other greatly.**_

Rayquaza rolled her eyes and turned to face her partner, exasperation clearly visible in her amber irises. "Those moves have notoriously low accuracy," she said evenly, hand on a hip. "I don't see we should concern ourselves."

Giratina crossed his arms and turned to face Rayquaza front-on. "As battlers, we must be prepared for every possible contingency," he said hotly. "The unexpected often happens in battle; Kyurem's Endeavor was proof enough of that."

Rayquaza turned to face the Ghost-type as well, and she switched the hand on her hip. "Only a simpleton could have seen that as a surprise," she snapped back angrily, amber eyes flashing. "Anyone could have seen that move coming."

Giratina scowled. "He could have simply been too slow to avoid the attacks," he snapped tightly, teeth gritted. "You know that-,"

"Ready?"

Both students froze at hearing the outside voice. Giratina's eyes darted around the room for a split second. _**Is that-?**_

"Fight!"

 _ **-Yveltal?**_

 _Crap._

/-\\-/-\

"Ice Beam!"

The twin voices of Cresselia and Darkrai breached the deadly mental silence in Rayquaza's mind. She barely had time to duck down to avoid the white beam of energy that surged past her head. Sparing a glance, she realized that Giratina had disappeared. _Using his signature move, I assume,_ she thought.

 _ **You assume correctly.**_

Giratina's voice made Rayquaza flinch; she did not know why. A Dark Pulse came suddenly out of no-where and knocked her backwards, the custom feeling of sickness washing over her. She glanced up in time to see shadows condensing on the other side of the Hall, next to Cresselia. Giratina lunged from the dark portal, surrounded in an ashen-purple aura.

"Shadow Force!"

He rammed into the Psychic full-force, sending her flying across the Hall. Darkrai growled and turned to face his friend, twin orbs of darkness in his hands. "Shadow Ball!" he yelled, firing the orbs at point-blank range. Giratina was blow backwards, but he didn't fall over as Cresselia had.

An orb of orange light appeared in Giratina's palm. "Aura Sphere!"

The Fighting-type move caught Darkrai on his left shoulder point-blank, and he hissed in pain. Darkrai immediately began sprinting towards Cresselia, who had begun to stir. He lifted her to her feet, and they both turned to face Giratina. Cresselia's hands glowed pink, while twin orbs of black-purple energy appeared in Darkrai's open palms.

"Hypnosis!"

A slow traveling ring of pink sleep-energy glided towards Giratina. The Ghost-type immediately jumped into the air, and he soared around the Hall as his phantom wings sprouted from his shoulder blades.

"Dark Void!"

An orb of darkness shot after Giratina, but he swerved downwards just as it exploded in midair, creating a three-foot diameter sphere of shadow. Darkrai growled, watching Giratina circle above him and his partner.

"Psycho Cut!"

Everything in Rayquaza's vision suddenly turned pink as Cresselia's attack hit her straight in the face. As the Flying-type stumbled, she heard Giratina speak up through the Griseous.

 _ **Done watching?**_ he asked her. _**Or are you just going to sit there doing nothing?**_

Rayquaza growled to herself as she lunged to the side, dodging another Psycho Cut. _You haven't been entirely helpful, either._

 _ **Give me a minute. I've got a plan.**_

Rolling her eyes, Rayquaza raised her hand, now coated in a violet aura. Taking aim at Cresselia, she said "Dragon Pulse!"

Cresselia nimbly rolled out of the way, but the stream of energy continued to barrel past her, instead hitting Darkrai. As the Dark-type stumbled, Giratina dove, apparently seeing an opening. As he zoomed past Darkrai, he lowered a single hand and swiped it, saying "Dragon Claw!"

Darkrai was knocked aside once again, and he fell to a knee, clothes smoking from the two powerful attacks he'd just been dealt.

Cresselia shrieked "Rai!" Then she spread both her hands, and a pale light that seemed to originate from no-where shone on her like a spotlight. Darkrai reached out with a hand as if to stop her, evidently knowing what she was about to do.

"Don't do it, Cress!" he said. "I can still-."

"Lunar Dance."

A wave of peaceful energy spread outwards from Cresselia like ripples from a pond, washing over Darkrai. His clothes instantly mended themselves. The bruises on his face disappeared, and all his energy and confidence seemed to be restored.

Although the move was intended for Darkrai, Rayquaza still felt some of the residue wash over her; the peace temporarily trumping the Griseous' solace. The wave warmed Rayquaza's insides, making her feel whole. She hadn't even realized she'd been feeling empty until something filled it.

Then the peace receded, and the coldness that accompanied the Griseous returned. Rayquaza now felt horrible. She wished that she could feel that peace again, so it could fill her, but it appeared as though Cresselia wasn't going to be doing that again anytime soon.

The Psychic female slumped to the ground, obviously fainting from the recoil of her Lunar Dance. Darkrai spared her a long glance before he returned his attention to Giratina, who had landed five feet from Rayquaza. He still had his last Dark Void charged in his palm. Without the customary shouting out of the name, Darkrai fired the orb at Giratina. With a quick glance, Rayquaza realized that Giratina had no defense. He would be absorbed by the blast and be put immediately into a dreamless sleep.

Rayquaza felt a surge of energy flow through her limbs. She wasn't sure what compelled her to, but she found herself moving towards Giratina. "Extremespeed!" Her body became a blur; in the next second, she was standing directly in front of Giratina, ready to take the attack for him.

Time seemed to slow down. The Dark Void was slowly, carelessly creeping its way towards her chest.

20 feet.

Rayquaza knew the instant she saw it that one of them was going to get hit. One of the two Delta partners was going to end up on the ground, asleep.

15 feet.

So why should she be concerned? Giratina wasn't going to be hurt from falling asleep. While Darkrai was busy watching his move, Rayquaza could simply begin an onslaught on the Dark-type; eventually, he would faint, and she would win.

10 feet.

At the expense of Giratina.

Why did she suddenly find herself caring about whether or not her _rival,_ for goodness sake, was going to get put to sleep? If anything, she should have relished the sight of the sarcastically deadpan loner falling to his knees before she did. She shouldn't care. Yet… she did. Somehow.

5 feet.

Suddenly, something solid pushed against her shoulder. Rayquaza felt herself falling, her legs giving out from under her. As she descended, she saw who had pushed her down; and she wasn't surprised to find that it was Giratina.

Their eyes met for a millisecond, although it seemed like a small eternity. Giratina's wine-red irises regarded her; several emotions spiraling through them at once. Rayquaza felt the thin layer of dirt beneath her as she landed, her breath sucked from her chest.

A small purple portal opened in front of Giratina. The Dark Void orb slipped inside of it, disappearing as it closed.

Time suddenly jumped back into its normal progression.

As Darkrai blinked, evidently surprised that his signature attack had been sent to another dimension, Giratina raised his hand once again. Another purple portal, this one two feet from Darkrai's face, appeared. The Dark Void suddenly shot from it, hitting its owner in the face. Darkrai immediately collapsed on the ground next to Cresselia, both now soundly asleep.

Yveltal stepped forward as the class politely applauded. "Team Delta wins!" he said. Before he had a chance to continue, Giratina turned to Rayquaza.

 _ **What was that?**_ he demanded mentally, his voice so strong it shook her brain.

"I was busy saving your snaky behind, that's what!" Rayquaza snapped, equally furious, although she couldn't place why.

"I had it under control! There was _no_ need to interfere."

 _Like I knew you had a precaution,_ she thought snippily. _Your defenses were down._

"So?" he asked aloud, clenching his fists as Rayquaza finally rose to her feet. "Was that any reason to act like an idiot and throw yourself in front of me like Mewtwo?"

"Hey!" came an indignant voice in the crowd.

Rayquaza ignored it. "We're _partners,_ Giratina!" she said, gesturing with her hands. "By definition, we have to help each other!"

 _ **That's not what you told me on our first training session.**_

 _So? Viewpoints can change._

"They don't change easily, Ray," said Giratina shaking his head. "What is wrong with you?"

Rayquaza scoffed. In the split second it took her to make the noise, she realized that the class had risen from their seats, and were now inching closer to the bickering loners. At the forefront, she noticed with disdain, was Kyurem. This sparked a memory.

"You tell me," she said dangerously. "I don't know what twisted game you're trying to play with me, but it ends _now."_ Giratina faltered in his argument. Either he had no idea what she was talking about, or he was flinching due to guilt.

Rayquaza didn't even want to know which one it was.

Kyurem took this as an invitation to step into the conversation. "Is this your guys' first argument?" he asked. "That's really cute."

Rayquaza whirled around and lifted him a foot off the ground by the collar of his jacket. The other on-lookers back away in unison.

"Don't even get me started on _you,_ " she growled threateningly. "I don't care what deranged plans you and Yveltal made. I am _not_ going to be some source of entertainment, another trophy on your wall."

Kyurem blinked as silence reigned over the Battle Hall, a moronic expression plastered across his face. Either he was trying to hide his guilt through apparent idiocy, or he was naturally a dupe.

"… What?"

Rayquaza settled on the latter, but she growled nonetheless. Before she could issue any more threats, however, Giratina spoke up.

"Put him down." Rayquaza turned her gaze and glared amber daggers at Giratina.

Kyurem chuckled nervously from his position in Rayquaza's grasp. "Yeah, could you just kinda gently-?"

Rayquaza promptly dropped him, coldly meeting Giratina's gaze.

"What is it?" she hissed. "Afraid your scheme will get exposed to the world?"

 _ **I have no idea what you are referring to.**_

 _You should,_ Rayquaza thought back. _Especially if it's_ your _plan._

Giratina straightened his trench coat, almost indignantly. "You know Kyurem just as well as I do, Rayquaza," he said. "This is exactly the kind of underhanded paranoia play that he loves to make."

A certain Ice-type spoke up from his spot on the dirt floor. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I don't-."

Both Delta battlers glared at the prankster. "Shut up," they said in unison. Their combined tones implied that severe consequences would be imposed for disobedience.

They turned back around to face each other. _**This is what I was talking about, Ray,**_ Giratina thought to her. _**What will you choose to trust? A whim, or myself? Kyurem is testing us in more than one way, whether he knows it or not.**_

Rayquaza barked out a laugh. "I would hardly call this a whim, Giratina," she said. Her next words bubbled in the base of her throat like molten lava; they would come out explosively, with a lot of heat and damage.

"I will not trust you. I can never do so. One cannot trust someone who rivals them."

Giratina blinked, and the class, watching intently, _oooohhh-_ ed childishly. Giratina sighed, rubbing his temples. _**I had hoped you had moved past this, but you are still unbearably naïve.**_

Rayquaza snapped at these words. She didn't know why. She was simply… compelled to.

"Naïve?" she asked, voice rising. "I save you and you have the nerve to call _me_ naïve?"

Giratina raised another eyebrow. "I saved myself. You had nothing to do with it," he said coldly.

Rayquaza growled. "Then you can battle in the Final by yourself and burn in your own hellish dimension for all I care," she spat. "I don't need you."

Giratina simply sighed again, and Rayquaza thought she heard a resigned sadness to it. "Do not inflict this upon yourself, Rayquaza," he said. "Whatever you want to prove to yourself, it's not worth it."

Rayquaza snarled. "Dragon Ascent."

Every onlooker besides Giratina scrambled for cover. Rayquaza felt herself shift into her Mega Evolution stage, and she glared at Giratina. The Ghost-type gazed back, determination set into his features.

"GRROOOOAAARR!" she roared fearsomely. Giratina sighed and opened a purple portal at his feet. Without another word or thought, he stepped into it, leaving the Hall.

The silence that reigned as everyone simultaneously turned to face Rayquaza was unnerving.

Growling again, Rayquaza spun around and flew towards the double doors, throwing them open violently.

 _ **Don't do this to yourself. Why will not just stop and think?**_

Rayquaza growled, trying to shut out Giratina's voice. _I will never give in to this,_ she thought viciously, not necessarilyprojecting the thought Giratina.

Rayquaza flew higher and higher, straining for the edge of the sky. Perhaps it was cold enough there to numb the painful fire that had grown in her heart.

She could only hope it was.

 **E/N- Once again, sorry for the wait, but I hope this was compensation enough!**

 **Please leave a review to tell me how I'm doing.**

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review…**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


	7. Choices and Challenges

**A/N-This is probably getting tedious, painful, or both.**

 **Another month long wait? Yeah… I've been putting a lot of energy into a project of mine outside of , so I'll once again apologize for my pathetic planning skills.**

 **This is an aftermath chapter, so there will be no battles. More tense, revealing conversations instead. Yay?**

 **Now, then. Shall we begin?**

Colligate Life: Chapter 7

 _Fwoom!_

Giratina growled as the orb of purple energy spontaneously exploded in his palm. Sighing and rubbing his temples, the Ghost-type leaned back on the bed in his dormitory. If his attacks were exploding before they even left his palm, then it meant only one thing; he was unstable. Something was preventing him from getting a clear focus on the attacks. And he had a sinking feeling about what exactly the cause was.

Yesterday's Semi-final debacle had left its mark on Giratina, whether he liked it or not. Sure, they had been a little closer to losing that battle than he typically liked, but a near-loss wasn't enough to warrant Giratina's imbalance. Afterwards, however, Rayquaza had seemingly lost her mind. She had gone off on him, talking about how they needed to co-operate, then she'd said that she could never trust him because they were 'supposed' to be rivals, _then_ she'd protested that she would never give in to… something. Whatever it was.

Just thinking about the amounts of emotion coming from his battle partner in that moment gave him a headache. That wasn't the only thing that lingered, though.

Giratina's previous image of Rayquaza was of when he'd first lain eyes on her; indifferent and powerful. Now, though…

Every time he thought of her, he was greeted with the last sight he'd had of her human form. Her angular mouth was contorted into a cruel snarl, which normally wouldn't have bothered him. Who _didn't_ look like that sometimes?

 _Cresselia,_ said a little annoying voice in the back of his head. He closed his eyes with a huff and shoved the thought aside.

What truly struck him about his partner's new image was her eyes. No longer were her amber irises cold orbs of smooth intelligence. Now, they were splintered, fractured in hundreds of places, letting everything behind it shine through. She had looked… hurt. But that wasn't what bothered him. Even _he_ admitted (only to himself) that he felt hurt sometimes.

It was what was behind her splintered irises that shocked him. Through the metaphorical cracks in Rayquaza's amber eyes, Giratina could see a flame. It wasn't harsh anger, or cold indifference, like he would expect from a battler such as her. Instead, there was a blinding determination; in fact, it was so fierce, it bordered lust. Rayquaza was yearning for something, and Giratina began to suspect that their argument had denied her of whatever it was.

This is what scared- yes, _scared-_ Giratina about the developments in his partner's behavior. Not the fact that she had the capacity to feel; _everyone_ had the capacity for it, although some preferred to be like himself and hide 95% of it. It was _what_ she evidently felt.

It was want.

Want… he had seen what want had done to people's lives. Maybe not the one feeling it firsthand, but most definitely those around them. Arceus was a prime example of want's destructive powers.

And yet…

Giratina himself was guilty of feeling it, and it was not something he was proud of. Want was such a petty and useless emotion, and Giratina had never even felt it prior to… to… just after the beginning of the fall semester.

 _Barely over one month ago._

Giratina's eyes snapped open as he heard a series of rhythmic knocks at the dormitory's door. He paused, taking in the sequence of knocks, foot stomps, and doorknob jiggles. When it stopped after five seconds or so, Giratina sat up on his bed, nodding slightly.

 _Darkrai's sequence for 'urgent'. Probably has an update for me._ Without letting Kyurem in on it, Giratina had asked Darkrai to track Rayquaza through the sky. The Dark-type had a weak flying ability, but he had an uncanny ability to find people in distress. Rayquaza definitely qualified as 'distressed'.

Giratina rose, straightened his grey trench coat, and walked over to the door. He twisted the knob and opened the door, already talking. "Give some news…" He slowed to a stop as he realized who was actually in the doorway.

"Hi, Giratina!"

 _Cresselia? How did she know Darkrai's rhythm?_

He was determined to not let any surprise (or disappointment) show through. "Greetings, Cresselia," he said simply to the pink-clad blonde. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Unlike Arceus, Giratina actually found the bubbly Psychic's presence enjoyable and worthy of praise. She exuded a radiant serenity that Giratina seldom felt.

Cresselia smiled warmly. "I just wanted to ask you something really quick," she said. "Can I come in?" Giratina internally winced, as he hated having anyone besides himself and Darkrai, the only residents, inside the dorm.

"Sorry, Cress," he said, using Darkrai's nickname for the Special Defender. "I'm busy at the moment. Perhaps you can make an arrangement to come by some other time?" Cresselia smiled even wider, instead of frowning like he thought she would have. Giratina narrowed his eyes, feeling that something was off.

Cresselia glanced down the hallway towards her left; then towards her right, as if making sure they were alone. Then she looked at him again and smiled innocently.

"I see," she said. "Are you sure you want to do that?" There was no change in her tone from before, but Giratina found himself imagining that there was a threat underlying those words. Nevertheless, he answered with a sharper tone.

"I am quite certain of that, Cresselia," he said, with a very audible sting in his voice. "Please leave."

Cresselia sighed tiredly. "Well," she said. "I was hoping not to have to do this, but…" Giratina felt every nerve in his body go off, but before he could react, Cresselia grabbed the front of his coat. Pushing on him with more strength than he would have expected, the bright and sunny Psychic shoved the feared Ghost-type loner into his dormitory, closing the door behind her.

Down the hall, Mewtwo blinked in disbelief.

/-\\-/-\

Giratina was having a hard time processing what was going on. Because there was no way that the girl in front of him who had a determined face and was pushing him into the center of his own room could _possibly_ be the same happy, perky girl that Darkrai used to be mortified of. It just didn't add up. All traces of the cheerful, sunny ditz was gone, replaced by someone serious; someone on a mission.

"Sit down," said the girl that _looked_ like Cresselia. "We need to talk." Giratina, still in slight disbelief, obeyed, sitting on his bunk. Cresselia sat on Darkrai's directly across from his. Her carmine irises, much like his own, studied him intently. Neither battle student said a word. For possibly the first time in his life, Giratina felt uneasy.

"… So do I talk first, or you talk first?" he asked eventually. "I must admit, I'm having a hard time getting a read on you…" Giratina slowed to a stop as Cresselia raised a hand between them. Then, she suddenly reached out and touched his forehead. Something settled on his mind as she touched him, and he realized that Cresselia was probing him. Giratina immediately flinched away, but the brief contact had apparently been enough to give the Psychic what she wanted. She nodded, and straightened.

"Alright," Cresselia said. "So when are you going to realize it?" This was such a random question, coming from nowhere, that Giratina had no answer. Cresselia sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Look, Giratina, I know you're kind of an empty void who barely knows what emotions are," said the Psychic tiredly, as if having to repeat something for a child constantly. "But there's no way you aren't feeling the _slightest_ bit conflicted about yesterday."

Giratina felt a scowl twist his features. _Ah,_ he thought. _So_ that's _what this is about._

Giratina had already set a mental clock in the back of his mind, waiting to see how long it would be until _someone_ questioned him about his 'falling-out', so to speak, with Rayquaza.

 _6 hours, 27 minutes, and… 46 seconds,_ Giratina calculated. _Impressive. They won't even let a day go by._ Giratina was determined not to lose his resolve in the face of this, however. He had more important things to worry about, like guessing who would win the Semi battle tomorrow. All this uncertainty could be pushed into the back of his head, and eventually forgotten.

… Right?

"Besides our victory, nothing else of importance happened yesterday," Giratina finally deadpanned.

Cresselia sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You know that's not true, Giratina," she said. "While it may or may not have had an effect on you, it's quite obvious that Rayquaza was affected." The Ghost-type scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Rayquaza and I simply disagreed for a moment," he said. "However, she is just as capable as I am of recovering from a simple argument. It's not in our nature to dwell on such useless things. Like emotions." Cresselia barked a laugh.

"I won't even _try_ to change your stance on emotions," she said. "However, I _would_ like to test your suspension of disbelief."

Giratina raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

Cresselia pressed her fingertips together and hunched down slightly, as if she were a doctor about to announce a complex diagnosis. "Despite what you _think_ you know about Rayquaza, she actually _isn't_ a heartless loner like yourself." Giratina scoffed, but Cresselia straightened herself and continued before he could interject.

"Sure, she was pretty isolated and straight forward in her mannerisms," she said. "And she _definitely_ knew how to deadpan." Giratina smirked slightly at this, but said nothing.

"But there's one small thing you haven't taken into account," Cresselia said, leaning forward slightly. "Actually, it's something you _both_ have, but you've done a better job of concealing it." Giratina raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she was referring to.

"And that is..?" he prompted.

Cresselia smirked lightly. "You're both human."

Giratina rolled his eyes and leaned back. _I've heard this one before,_ he thought. _It's far too easy to counter._

"You have no argument with that point," he said smugly. "There are several different types of humans. Thus, we can safely assume that there are at least one, if not more, humans who choose to avoid emotion such as myself. I strongly believe that Rayquaza is one such person." Cresselia tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. After a few seconds of contemplative silence, she spoke again.

"No, you don't," Cresselia said bluntly.

"Don't what?"

"You don't fully believe that Rayquaza is emotionless," she repeated candidly. "I know this for a fact." Giratina raised an eyebrow.

"I doubt that highly," he said. "There is no way for you to be sure."

"On the contrary," Cresselia said. "When two emotionally recessive people have an intense argument, they tend to send off mass waves of Psychic feeling. I heard every vocal and mental word that was thrown between the two of you." Giratina felt his confidence waver somewhat.

"I won't waste much of your time, Giratina," Cresselia said suddenly. "I know you to be a highly principled, yet also highly stubborn person. So I know there won't be any argument that will convince you of my point." Giratina nodded, glad that the Psychic-type was finally seeing sense.

" _However,"_ Cresselia continued. "I also know that you are very organized and practical. You don't like things left undone." Giratina remained silent, knowing what she said to be true. _Where is she going with this?_

"So," continued the Psychic. "I'd like you to try something tomorrow."

"Okay," Giratina said, half sighing. "I'm going to stop you right there." Cresselia opened her mouth to argue, but Giratina cut her off before she could voice a disagreement.

"Listen," he continued. "I don't just _try_ things because someone wants me to. It's not in my nature." Cresselia snorted, but Giratina pressed on with his counter argument.

"Besides," he said. "There's nothing I need to prove to myself." Cresselia jumped in as the Ghost-type took a breath.

"Exactly," she said. "Rayquaza, however, has several things to prove." Giratina opened his mouth but Cresselia shushed him.

"Hear me out," she said. "It won't last longer than a minute. Promise." Giratina groaned, and he flopped over to his back on his bed. Cresselia nodded.

"Great," she said. "All I need you to do is manipulate the situation." Giratina sighed.

"If you want manipulation, go to Kyurem."

"Rayquaza isn't emotionally troubled because of Kyurem."

Giratina remained silent, not having the energy to continue the argument.

"Tomorrow morning," Cresselia instructed. "Sit next to Rayquaza in Accel. Battle." Giratina waited for the rest of her request. Perhaps she wanted him to ask certain probing questions? Or maybe something even _less_ like himself? But the elaboration never came. Giratina turned his head sideways to glance at the Psychic.

"That's it?" he asked disbelievingly. "What will that prove?"

"Everything," Cresselia said strongly. Giratina sat up, noticing the sudden change in the girl's tone of voice. She immediately went from exasperated to dead serious. "I'm a powerful Psychic, so believe me when I say this; Rayquaza is a bag of shredded emotions."

Giratina crossed his arms. "You want me to take a seat next to Rayquaza?" he asked skeptically. "That's it?"

Cresselia nodded, then stood. "Yes," she said. "You'll see why tomorrow." Giratina stood as well, a tiny smirk on his face.

"I can't wait," he said. Cresselia chuckled and walked towards the door. Just as she opened it, something clicked in Giratina's mind.

"Oh, Cresselia?" he said. "I forgot to ask; does Darkrai actually _know_ you're not really a brainless ditz?"

Cresselia turned around and giggled impishly, all traits of her former personality returned. "Of course not, silly," she said in a bubbly manner that sharply contrasted the determined gleam she'd had in her carmine eyes not ten seconds ago. Giratina raised an eyebrow.

"Will he ever?"

Cresselia giggled again, then walked out of the dorm. "Maaaayyyyyybe," she said foxily. Then the deceptively sunny Psychic closed the door behind her.

Giratina shook his head, chuckling. Even if his little charade with Rayquaza went wrong tomorrow, watching Cresselia and Darkrai interact the next day with the knowledge of Cresselia's other side would be _extremely_ amusing.

 _Tomorrow will be quite the dramatic day for us all,_ Giratina realized as he sat on his bed. _Let's hope we can all keep our heads and realize who we're supposed to be, and not succumb to any dubious foreign emotions._

For some reason, the thought wasn't as reassuring as he thought it should have been.

/-\\-/-\

Rayquaza sat alone on top of the emerald dome of the Battle Hall in human form, staring at the blood-red gash in the sky formed by the setting sun. Not a single thought entered or left the Flying-type's head. She may as well have been a hollowed out husk or a statue, never flinching, never moving. Her emerald hair wavered in the slight breeze, and her clothes rippled.

The last few hours had burned any and all emotion that had remained in Rayquaza. The argument with Giratina had pushed her over the edge, forcing all of the jumbled and rampant emotions out of her with a vicious blast of fire. It was a release she had been waiting for desperately, but… it hurt more than she thought it would.

"Never knew you had a thing for sunsets."

Rayquaza whirled around to face the voice behind her. She found a small part of her hoping that it was… She growled. _No. I do not,_ can _not hope for this._

Standing behind her, leaning casually against the thin spire, was Darkrai, Giratina's Dark-type friend. Rayquaza felt equal parts relieved and disappointed. Darkrai chuckled and moved forward, taking a seat beside her. She growled at him, but he seemed oblivious to her discomfort.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm a sucker for 'em, too." Rayquaza growled again, glaring intensely at the Special Attacker.

"What are you doing here, Darkrai?" she asked coldly. The introvert turned his head so he could glance at her with his visible icicle eye.

"Checking up on you," he said matter-of-factly. "Can't have one of the prime tournament contenders running off on us, can we?" Rayquaza growled and went back to staring at the horizon.

"I never asked for anyone to follow me."

"Giratina did."

He may as well have dropped a Thunder on her head. Every part of her twitched, from her hands to her emptied eyes. A small spurt of euphotic warmth went off in Rayquaza's chest, but she quickly stamped it out. _I refuse to be controlled by this-this… this_ feeling _in my chest. Never._

Darkrai watched Rayquaza's internal struggle with great interest. Eventually he said;

"I see."

Rayquaza huffed angrily, unsure as to why Darkrai was playing this game with her. "See what?" she growled testily.

"Why you ran off after your argument with Giratina."

Rayquaza grabbed Darkrai by the collar of his torn leather jacket. "I didn't _run off,"_ she said angrily. "I just-."

Darkrai laughed. "Don't kid yourself, Rayquaza," he said. "I know what denial looks like when I see it."

Rayquaza was about ready to send the introvert down the building taking a one-step shortcut, but she froze when she glanced at his visible eye. There was something in the cyan iris that vexed her. He looked like he had at one point been broken as well, but had somehow been… mended. If that even was plausible.

 _Perhaps… perhaps he can help._

Rayquaza sighed. She knew there was a large chance that this could backfire on her, but at the moment, she needed to let some of her pent-up thoughts out. And, despite her conscience yelling at her to get a grip, she strangely _trusted_ Darkrai. She didn't know why. There was just a gleam of knowledge to his eyes, as if to say, _Whatever you're going through, whatever you've felt, I've been there; I've been through Hell and back._ It was almost… _fatherly._

Still, it never hurt to be cautious. Rayquaza wasn't exactly _enthralled_ at the idea of having a heart-to-heart with… well, _anyone._

"What makes you think I'm in denial?" she asked with a hint of danger lining her words, as if telling him _Choose your words carefully._

Darkrai turned away, staring at the sunset as if trying to offset Rayquaza. When he spoke, a slightly bitter edge came onto his voice.

"You steal glances," he said concisely. "Then you berate yourself for doing so. You feel a strange pulsing in your chest, a lurch here and there, and your thoughts become murky and unintelligible." Subconsciously, Rayquaza rubbed the Griseous armband on her right wrist.

Darkrai glanced at her. "I know what you're feeling, Rayquaza," he said. "I've felt that way for _nine years."_ Rayquaza raised an eyebrow, tearing her gaze away from the sunset for a moment. The introvert smirked wanly.

"I've also been near Giratina long enough to know that you're probably shrugging off every word I'm saying." Rayquaza chuckled, then turned back towards the setting sun. Darkrai sighed and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Just listen to this," he said simply, glancing down at her. "Remember yesterday's battle?"

The nod of a green-haired head was Darkrai's only response.

"Remember when Cresselia used Lunar Dance?"

Rayquaza did not move an inch. Darkrai nodded.

"Good. You do. I want you to think back to when the residue from the move washed over you. Don't try to deny it;" he said as she opened her mouth. "I saw the look on your face when it washed over you." Rayquaza grunted unhappily, but Darkrai seemed to not notice.

"You remember how it felt?"

How could she forget? For the first time in her life, Rayquaza had felt _full;_ like she had a reason to live, a reason to battle. It was the best feeling in the world, and being deprived of it was possibly the worst thing that could have happened to her that day. The feeling of deprivation- of _losing_ something-was enough to push her over the edge and cause her to go off on Giratina.

Darkrai knelt down, meeting Rayquaza's eyes evenly. "Imagine that warmth," he said. "That peace." Rayquaza nodded. She ignored her consciousness' shouts of protest against sitting down and talking about _feelings._ What was the point of talking about something so petty? But this was something that needed to be done, if she were to be prepared for the final. Her conscience needed to be clear. Some small voice in the back of her head scoffed at her reasoning.

 _You know that's not the only reason you're doing this._

"Now imagine feeling that every time you were with someone," Darkrai completed. Rayquaza scoffed and crossed her arms, doing everything in her mental power to _not_ imagine what it felt like.

"You can go, Darkrai," she snapped. "I'm not giving in to this. Ever." Darkrai laughed, and he lightly grasped Rayquaza's shoulder in a friendly manner. The Dragon-type snarled at him, but he did not remove his hand.

"Don't call it 'giving in'," he said lightly. "That implies that it's got negative repercussions."

"It does," Rayquaza snapped. "It dulls the senses, clouds the mind. It's almost a _disease."_ Darkrai shook his head, as if disappointed with her answer.

"If you only think about battling, then yes, it could be seen as a sickness," Darkrai said evenly. His visible cyan eye gleamed like slick ice, holding her amber gaze easily. "But I know that you care about other things." The suggestive look in his eyes made her scoff.

"Care?" Rayquaza scoffed, false emotion behind her words. "About what? Giratina?"

Darkrai shrugged carelessly. " _You_ said that, not me," he said. Rayquaza flinched as she realized her mistake, drawing a smirk from the Dark-type in front of her. Darkrai removed his hand from her shoulder and stood, offering a hand to help her up as well. Rayquaza smacked it aside and remained sitting on the ground. This drew a sigh from Darkrai.

"Listen, I know you don't believe a word I'm saying," he said. "But there's more to you than movesets and stats." Rayquaza scoffed again. She stood, putting her hands on her hips.

"You don't know me at all then, Darkrai," she said candidly. Darkrai was silent for a moment before his voice came back colder and more serious.

"Rayquaza." The Flying-type turned her head to glare at him.

"Look me in the eye and tell me nothing matters to you other than battling." Rayquaza scoffed and glared at the Dark-type, the words already formed on her lips. She froze when she saw the gleam in his eyes.

His icicle blue eye bored a hole into her skull. No one, Giratina and Yveltal included, had ever given her such an intense stare. In fact, his gaze was so fierce that, given the distance between them, Rayquaza could see every individual strand of color in his iris. A slight trance overcame Rayquaza; not only was she unable to prove Darkrai wrong, but was also unable to speak in general.

Darkrai narrowed his visible eye. "Nothing?"

Rayquaza finally regained control of her mouth, and she scowled. "So what?" she asked. "It doesn't matter if I care. I will _never_ give in."

Darkrai smirked. "You don't have to 'give in' to anything," he said earnestly. "Just… go with it."

Rayquaza crossed her arms. "That's basically the same thing." Darkrai waved this comment aside with his hands.

"The words don't matter," he said. "It's how you mean it. Instead of acting like it's a sin to feel affection, just go with it." Rayquaza's eyes lit up in a fiery rage. She lunged forward to grab Darkrai's jacket collar, but his body turned phantom and he phased straight through the angered Flying-type. Having just switched sides, Rayquaza growled and clenched her fists.

"No one _ever_ said _anything_ about _affection,"_ she said. Darkrai smiled wanly, despite her undoubtedly intimidating image.

"I did," he said. "And judging by your reaction, it's _definitely_ crossed your mind more than once." Rayquaza took another threatening step forward, and Darkrai raised his hands in surrender.

"At ease," he said in a placating manner. "Just remember; you can _choose_ whether or not you feel that warmth. I suggest you give it a try."

Rayquaza growled. "I don't care," she said. "Even if I wanted to, I still couldn't."

Darkrai put his hands on his hips. "Then don't," he said. "Let _Giratina_ decide."

Rayquaza blinked. "What?"

"You're always comparing yourself to him," he pointed out. "Be it about power, or anything else. So why not include emotion in that lineup?" This gave Rayquaza pause. _That… that actually sounds reasonable._ If she was so determined to surpass Giratina… then why not let _him_ be the first to succumb? If he did, Rayquaza could finally find reason to do so herself, and as a bonus, she could gloat for the rest of her life that _Giratina_ fell to emotion before she did.

Darkrai smirked as he watched her contemplate his suggestion. "I knew you'd find that reasonable," he said lightly, as if he'd won a bet. Rayquaza didn't want to give the Dark-type the satisfaction of being right, so she scowled.

"I never said I would do anything about it," she said. Darkrai smiled knowingly.

"That's what you believe now," he said. "But just know this; when the time comes, your entire perspective on this will shatter. I guarantee you, by the end of the year, you'll look back at yourself now and think 'Who was that? I've sure come a long way since then'." Rayquaza snorted in disbelief.

"Don't be too sure of yourself, Darkrai," she said. "I'm doing this solely to prove myself stronger than Giratina. Not for any other reason."

Darkrai smiled sadly. "Strength isn't about outlasting something, Rayquaza," he said. "It's about knowing when to _stop,_ and experiencing things that are foreign to you." Rayquaza scoffed, and crossed her arms.

"That's not the kind of strength _I_ care about," she said crossly. Darkrai began to turn away, smirking ever-so-slightly.

"It's the kind of strength that truly defines you, and your fears." Rayquaza raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What fears?" she asked Darkrai.

He didn't answer. Instead, Darkrai Pitch turned on his heel and walked straight into the shade of the Battle Hall's emerald dome. As soon as the last part of him was covered in shadow, the Dark-type disappeared, leaving Rayquaza alone atop the Battle Hall.

His last words rang in her ears. _It's the kind of strength that truly defines you, and your fears._

 _Fears?_ Rayquaza thought haughtily. _What fears? I don't fear anything. And even if I did, it_ definitely _wouldn't have been emotion._ The snippy voice from the back of her head resurfaced. _Then why are you so anxious to avoid this confrontation?_

Rayquaza growled and shut the voice out of her mind. As she did this, the last sliver of the setting sun disappeared beneath the horizon.

 _We'll see who's right tomorrow, Darkrai,_ Rayquaza thought haughtily as she looked down upon the University's campus. _I won't succumb. I won't give in._ This was something Rayquaza was absolutely certain of.

… So why did she feel that something was going to go horribly wrong?

 **E/N- This is something that just occurred to me; I should really change the genre of this story. Sure, it's got** _ **some**_ **funny parts, but I don't think it's primarily humor anymore.**

 **Also, next on Colligate Life; Semi Final Battle- Kyurem and Reshiram vs. ?**

 **Any input as to what the new genre should be? Or maybe just feel like dropping a random comment by for no particular reason? In that case;**

 **Favorite, Follow, and Review…**

 **EyeofAmethyst07**


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